The Tale of Team 6
by TurboKyubi
Summary: The sealing went a bit differently, leading to a different set of events. With family and friends by his side, aswell as the spirit of a certain fox, Naruto must face all that comes his way. How will things play out now that he has a different team and a different mentor. This is the story of Team 6 as they become legends!
1. Chapter 1

**Um...Hi everyone. This is my first time on here so I'm going to have to get accustomed to a few things. First of all, this is my first story on this site. It's just an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while and I thought I'd go ahead and put it up. I have got quite a bit of the plot outlined, though I am going to work out a few of the things as I go along. This will be my take on the Naruto series but with several key differences. I will be adding OCs and some of the preexisting characters may act differently due to the events that take place in this story.**

 **Secondly, I'm going to try and update once a week. Classes are going to be starting back up for me soon so it might be a bit difficult. I'm not going to make the updating schedule too hard for myself otherwise I might end up disappointing any of you who stick with me for this story. I have a couple of more chapters written out already, but I'm going to try to have atleast two ready at all times. Well...I think that's it. On with the story I guess. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Both the series and the characters are the sole property of** **Masashi Kishimoto. I also donot own anything else that I may add into this story that does not belong to me.**

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Chapter 1

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The man was considered the strongest ninja in the entire village and for good reason. He had survived the previous two Great Ninja Wars and was known as 'The God of Shinobi.' But the man had grown old and, at the moment, he felt every bit of his age. The man was sat in his office, donning the robes of the Kage of the Leaf. The robes he was sure weighed more now than they did a few hours ago. Infront of his desk was the reason for his frustration.

A woman with brilliant, crimson hair stood tall. Her purple eyes filled with hope, one hand resting on her ample chest while the other was kept on top of a young girl's head. The woman had a slender build and fair skin. Her long hair fell down to her lower back, strands framing both sides of her beautiful face. She wore a high-collared white blouse under a long green dress. On her left wrist was a blue wristband aswell as black shinobi sandals.

The girl to her right was almost like a younger copy of her. She was slightly shorter than most kids her age but had a slender build aswell as a well-developed chest for a child. She wore a blue, form-fitting, sleeveless shirt along with baggy blue trousers, the ends of which were tied around her ankles with bandages. Over her blue shirt she wore a red jacket that ended just above her naval. The girl too had fair skin, aswell as violet eyes. She had the same red hair, albeit shorter so that it barely brushed her shoulders. She wore blue shinobi sandals and on her right thigh was a weapon holster. The girl seemed to be staring around the large office in what appeared to be wonder.

Hiruzen let out a deep sigh, taking a long drag from his pipe. Silence remained for a few more minutes before the old man spoke. "So, you'd like to be reinstated as a Konoha Shinobi…and you'd like Kasumi-chan here to be allowed to become a genin," the man stated more than questioned. The woman seemed slightly doubtful, but slowly nodded. The young girl by her side seemed to perk up at the mention of her name aswell. The Hokage continued to stare at the two before sighing. "Well, I'll see what I can do…I owe Minato that much atleast…"

The two redheads seemed to take a moment to make sense of the man's words before smiling and bowing to the old man. "Thank you, Hokage-sama! You don't know how much this means to us!" the elder of the two spoke, her voice obviously filled with excitement. The old man let out a chuckle, before looking out the window. The two red-haired shinobi rose up and stared at the man. A few moments passed before the older woman bit her lip, before asking the question that was on her mind. "Hokage-sama…how is he?"

The man continued to stare out the window, a frown finding its way on his face before it slowly changed to a sincere smile. "He's had a rough life…but I think he's grown up to be a fine young man…" said the elderly Hokage. He turned to the two before a mischievous smile came onto his face. "Actually, I believe he's going to be giving his genin exam in a few moments. Would you two like to watch?" Hiruzen questioned as her retrieved a glass orb from underneath his desk. The orb was kept carefully on a soft cushion. This seemed to catch the attention of the two women. They leaned in as the Hokage placed the orb on the desk. The surface of the orb seemed to shimmer for a few moments before it showed a classroom.

 ** _…At the Academy…_**

Two men stood infront of a class of students. The first was a slightly pale man with long white hair that fell down to his shoulders. The man wore a long-sleeved blue shirt and baggy blue pants. He wore a green vest over his shirt, blue sandals and had a weapon holster on his left thigh. He also wore a blue bandana, with a metal plate sewn on the front which held the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Beside him stood another man, dressed in a similar attire. He wore the same outfit, excluding the bandana. He had tan skin, and a scar running across his nose. He had brown hair tied up into a ponytail and held a clipboard in his hands. He glanced over the students of his class before his eyes landed on one particular one. The student in question was currently sitting quietly in the second row of the class. He seemed calm and bored. And that was exactly why he was worried.

"Well…it seems everyone has given the exam. Well, except you Naruto…" spoke the man, his voice seemed slightly nervous. The boy named Naruto looked up before grinning, an act that had a few of the girls in class blushing. The boy had spiky blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. He had fair skin and three whisker-like markings on each cheek. The boy wore a blue, half-sleeved shirt along with baggy blue pants. Over his shirt, he wore an orange jacket, the sleeves of which were folded up at the ends, that held a red swirl on the back. The zipper of the jacket was open and the boy's tight shirt allowed anyone to see that he was well-built for his age. He wore blue shinobi sandals and had a weapon holster attached to his right thigh, aswell as a small black pouch on the back of his hip. On the back of his waist was a small scroll, and on his head were a pair of goggles.

"Yo! Iruka-sensei, should I start my test…?" the boy asked, clearly eager to begin. The man known as Iruka seemed to let out a nervous chuckle before going over to the door and opening it. Two people walked into the class, both wearing the animal-like masks that denoted them as ANBU. The two elite ninja walked into the room and took positions at the front of the class. The rest of the students seemed to be confused so Iruka decided to explain the situation.

"You see, due to certain circumstances Naruto can't take the normal genin test. So he has been allowed to perform another test in accordance to the will of the Hokage…" the man seemed slightly doubtful of his student, but he knew that if anyone could perform this task it would be Naruto. The entire class seemed to be staring at the blonde student in question, who at the moment was casually twirling a kunai on his index finger while whistling carelessly. "Ok then Naruto. You have until noon to get from here to the Hokage's office. The rules of your exam are simple. You must not be caught by the squad of ANBU once you leave your seat and you must be inside Hokage-sama's office by noon…" the man seemed nervous as he explained the task to his adoptive brother.

Naruto merely smirked, catching the kunai he'd been twirling in a tight grip. All of the students seemed to staring at him, except a select few like the heir of the Uchiha clan and his best friend Tatsuo Uchiha. "Are you ready?" questioned Iruka, glancing nervously at the ANBU and back at his student. He received a nod in return and so taking a deep breath he spoke, "Very well…Begin!" Silence remained. Iruka blinked before staring at his blonde student. The boy was grinning like a madman; a look that he knew meant trouble.

"Hey Tatsuo!" the boy spoke in a cheerful voice. The boy in question lazily turned to the blonde, a bored expression on his face. Tatsuo had messy black hair and eyes of the same color. He had fair skin, and wore a sleeveless black shirt over which he wore a plain blue hoodie. He wore baggy black trousers, the ends of which were tied with bandages and he also had a weapon holster strapped to each thigh. On his forehead was a Konoha hitai-ate, denoting him as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village. The boy seemed tired, as he always did. He was just far too lazy, not to the extent of the members of the Nara clan but it just seemed that there were very few things that were able to garner his interest. The boy sent a bored gaze over to his friend before letting out a tired sigh.

What happened next seemed almost like a blur to all those present. Tatsuo lifted his hand up, tossing a small paper ball into the air. The two ANBU at the front of the class reacted immediately, as expected of the elite ninja of the village. The first of the two, the one adorning a boar mask rushed towards the black-haired accomplice of their target. The second ANBU tossed a well-placed shuriken at the small paper ball. The projectile was deflected by a single kunai, tossed by none other than Naruto himself.

The boar-masked ANBU was two steps away from his target, when his leg suddenly caught in something. The man looked down to find his legs caught in ninja-wire and cut the obstruction in a second, not slowing down in the slightest. But it was already too late. The moment he looked up, he was blinded by a bright flash of light. He couldn't stop himself in time and ended up crashing into a few seats. The second ANBU who wore a tiger mask had managed to shield her eyes from the blinding explosion caused by the paper ball. She noticed their target and the boy's accomplice rushing towards an open window. The two were already out of the classroom by the time she managed to get to the opening herself.

Naruto laughed as the wind rushed past his face. He and Tatsuo had leapt out of the second floor of the academy and were currently sailing through the air. The blonde noticed the two ANBU leaping towards them from the main wall of the academy and smirked. He flipped through the air, catching Tatsuo's outstretched hands before throwing the boy higher and over the two oncoming shinobi. This left him completely open to the two shinobi approaching him from the front. The two ninja approaching him from the front closed in on their blonde target only to notice his mischievous grin. They weren't prepared for what happened next.

Naruto seemed to be catapulted higher, avoiding the two masked ninja completely. The two turned around in mid-air and saw the gleaming ninja wire wrapped around the boy's arms. Their trained eyes followed the metal lengths to Tatsuo's hands. The Uchiha had used his momentum to pull his blonde friend out of harm's way and up higher into the air to avoid the two ninja. Flipping through the air, the two ANBU landed gracefully on the ground, crouched as they observed their targets land on the wall that acted as a border for the academy.

Upon landing, Naruto turned around to face the two ANBU before sticking his tongue out at them. The blonde then jumped off the wall before racing towards the Hokage's tower with Tatsuo hot on his heels. Neither noticed the single ninja watching them from the roof of the academy. The ANBU's long purple hair fluttered gently in the breeze as she observed her target and his unexpected helper leave the academy. Her cat mask made sure to hide her slight surprise at what had just occurred. She hadn't expected the boy to be able to avoid her team's initial attempt. It seemed the Hokage was right when he'd told them to not take the blonde lightly. The man hadn't said anything about having to deal with Tatsuo however.

The tiger-masked ANBU appeared behind her in a swirl of leaves before kneeling on one knee. The ninja wore a mask but her shoulder length brown hair and her slender build gave away the fact that she was a woman. "Apologies Captain! It seems the target escaped…" the woman's voice was soft and filled with shock. It looked like she was just as surprised as the cat-masked ANBU if not more at what had just occurred. The purple-haired captain of the ANBU team seemed to take a moment before responding.

"It seems we've underestimated our target. Let's not do so again…" she said in a strict tone before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, the woman behind her following a second later. Back in the class the students stared at the window in what appeared to be a mixture of shock and surprise. Iruka seemed to be stunned into silence aswell. He was having a hard time understanding what had just happened. In the end, it was one of his students that broke the silence. The boy had wild brown hair, and slightly tanned skin. He had brown eyes, wore a grey hoodie and black baggy pants along with sandals of the same color. His most noticeable features were the two inverted red triangles present on his face, one on each cheek. On the boy's head was a small, white-furred puppy. "What the hell just happened?!" the boy let out, breaking the stunned silence.

The reactions of the people watching in the Hokage's office weren't too different. Hiruzen chuckled to himself at the scene before glancing at the two women infront of him. The younger of the two seemed awestruck. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was agape. She seemed to be having trouble comprehending what had just occurred. The old leader's eyes shifted to the elder woman this time, noticing the slight look of nervousness that appeared on her features. It seemed she still hadn't completely gotten over her problems.

The man let out another chuckle before deciding to question the two on what they'd just witnessed. "I told Neko to be careful with him. It seems he's pulled Tatsuo into this aswell," his voice managed to bring the attention of the room's other occupants back to him. "So, what did you think of that little show?" The elder woman seemed to be at a loss for words, but her younger look-alike didn't seem to have such a problem.

"That was so cool!" she exclaimed, her voice filled to the brim with excitement. "How'd they do that?!" The girl seemed extremely energetic as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She stared deep into the orb, watching carefully as the two boys made their way closer to the tower. Hiruzen chuckled once more, before looking back to the older woman.

"So Kushina, what did you think?" he asked. The woman didn't look like she heard him, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. The Hokage sighed before repeating his question once more, a bit louder than last time, causing the woman to snap out of her thoughts before apologizing for spacing out. She looked back at the orb on the table, her eyes focused specifically on the blonde-haired boy as he ran smiling through the streets of the village.

"He's definitely grown up…" she said, her hand going up to rest gently on her chest. Her eyes continued to stare longingly at the image of the boy. "…That display shows just how much…" she muttered as her eyes wandered over to the other boy shown in the orb. "Who's that?" she questioned, pointing to the boy in the orb. The Hokage took a moment to stare at the image of the boy himself before responding to the question.

"Tatsuo Uchiha. One of the most talented ninja I've ever seen in the making. Now if only he'd stop finding everything so boring…" the old man's voice seemed to have a slight hint of irritation to it. "He's an orphan. Him and Naruto live together…they're best friends." The red-haired woman let a small smile play across her lips before her eyes narrowed. It seemed that the team of ANBU had caught up to the two.

Naruto and Tatsuo stood back to back in the middle of one of Konoha's streets. Around them were the four ANBU they'd managed to escape moments ago. "You did well before," spoke a loud voice from above them. The two sent a glance up and saw a cat-masked ANBU standing on one of the rooftops. The civilians around the group were staring at the scene in confusion, not knowing what was going on. "But how do you plan to get out of this situation?" questioned the woman.

Naruto took a moment to glance around them. The four ANBU didn't seem like they were going to go easy on them if they decided to fight. The team of elite ninja was definitely the real thing. They'd managed to block off any route the two kids could use to escape. Naruto smirked, enjoying the thrill of the situation to its fullest. "I think you don't know who you're dealing with here," the blonde said, his voice filled with mirth. He reached into the small pouch on the back of his hip and retrieved something clenched tightly in his hand. The four ninja surrounding him and Tatsuo tensed. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! The Prankster King from Hell!" the boy shouted, throwing the two small paper balls in his hands to the ground.

Smoke filled the area, obscuring the vision of all those present. The civilians seemed to be slightly panicked but were unaffected for the most part. The four ANBU rushed into the dark cloud of smoke, hoping to catch their targets off guard. The tiger-masked ANBU and the horse-masked ninja ran through a few handseals before the smoke was blown away by a swift gust of wind. The four ANBU's eyes widened when they noticed what remained in the spot where the two kids had previously been. A pair of logs with several exploding tags attached to them was all that remained.

The ANBU stopped short and tried to leap back when the tags went off, not knowing how to respond to such a sudden situation in such a short amount of time. The following explosion resulted in four ANBU and quite a bit of the surrounding area being covered in orange and red paint. The cat-masked ANBU who'd watched this all happen seemed to be frozen on the spot. She glanced to the side to see the two boys running as fast as they could towards the Hokage's tower. "Damn it! After them…" she muttered, hating how the two brats had made her and her squad look like idiots infront of the civilians present.

Naruto laughed loudly, his mind returning to what they'd done. "Oh man! That was great!" the boy announced, leaping off the building they were currently on to the next. "What do you think, Tatsuo?" the boy questioned the black-haired boy running next to him. Said boy was grinning despite himself. He couldn't deny that what they'd done was funny beyond belief. His smile faded when he took a peek behind him. It seemed it was too early to celebrate. Although he couldn't help letting out a small chuckle at seeing most of their pursuers covered in large patches of bright paint.

The boy turned to his blonde comrade before speaking, "We still following the plan?" Upon receiving a nod, the boy smiled before reaching into his pant pocket. "Alright then…get going!" he shouted, stopping and turning to face the oncoming team of elite ninja. "Here goes!" he shouted to no one in particular as he tossed the three small paper balls he held in between the fingers of his right hand. The team of ANBU barely had time to react as the three small projectiles exploded, releasing bright flashes that left them blinded.

"You better hope this works…" muttered Tatsuo as he rushed for the team of ANBU. As he approached the group of five, he had to dodge a swift kick that would have no doubt left him sprawling on the ground. He flipped over the cat-masked ANBU who turned around to face him. He didn't question how she was able to see him because he didn't have time to do so. The next few moments were critical to the plan, or so Naruto had said. Passing the members of the team, avoiding several punches and kicks, he came to a quick halt beside the one wearing the tiger mask.

The effects of the flash bombs seemed to be wearing off as two of the other ANBU looked like they'd noticed his presence. He only had a few seconds left to pull this off and so he raised his hand. The next moment a loud smack resounded through the air along with a loud surprised yelp. Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds, the members of the ANBU staring stunned at the boy whose hand was still pressed against the backside of the tiger-masked ANBU.

All six of those who were present went silent, before the tiger-masked ANBU seemed to process what had just taken place. That was when Tatsuo decided to squeeze and so with an almost roar-like battle cry, the woman turned around and attempted to deliver a bone-breaking punch to the young boy's face. Tatsuo snapped out of his slight daze, managing to stumble back and avoid the swing. He was forced to avoid several more, rolling to the side to dodge a particularly nasty downward kick that left a crack in the roof they were currently standing on. He caught something out of the corner of his eye and jumped back to avoid another dropkick from the cat-masked ANBU.

"You three!" the purple-haired woman said pointing to the three male ANBU members. "Go get the target…we'll meet at the Hokage's office." The three ninja in question nodded nervously before leaping off in the direction Naruto had run off. They knew better to get in the way of a woman when she was dishing out righteous feminine fury, especially when said women were trained to kill people without hesitation. Their captain hated perverts after all and Tiger had more than enough reason to go after the black-haired boy. The three said a quick prayer for the poor boy that would surely depart the realm of the living and continued on, the only thought in their heads being that the kid was braver than any of them could ever be.

Tatsuo let out an audible gulp as he stared at his opponents. Two extremely pissed off women that could no doubt kill him a thousand times over before he'd ever get the chance to retaliate. Why had he let Naruto talk him into this? The boy had somehow managed to convince him that this was a sound plan. He took a deep breath, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, hoping to God that the women infront of him wouldn't attack him while he was preparing to fight for his life. Letting out the deep breath he'd been holding he opened his eyes. Both his eyes showed the bloodline of the Uchiha clan. A fully matured sharingan was present in both of them. The whites of his eyes were red; his pupil had shrunk to a miniscule size and three comma-like tomoe spun around both of the pupils.

He couldn't help but wince slightly as both the women infront of him slowly unsheathed the tanto blade on their backs. "The Hokage said no lethal force, but I don't believe this will count as lethal force," said the brunette in a tone that spoke of murder. The boy let out another audible gulp before pulling out a simple kunai and holding it in a reverse grip in his right hand. This was why he chose to be lazy. It kept him from getting into stupid and overly dangerous situations like this. Naruto would owe him one after this.

Taking one last calming breath, he got serious. All traces of worry seemed to disappear from his face and his form seemed to become tenser. His grip on the kunai tightened and the tomoe in his eyes began spinning around the pupil faster. He brought his left hand up to face his opponents, the hand held loosely to defend him from any attack they'd make. His other hand held the kunai just infront of his face and his legs shifted into a slightly wider stance. He'd need to be completely focused to have any chance of surviving this.

"What the hell was that?!" shouted Kushina staring angrily at the scene in the orb. Beside her, Kasumi had a deep red blush on her face. Hiruzen let out a loud laugh seeing both the scene and the reaction of the two present in his office. "The kid's a pervert!" shouted the red-headed adult in outrage. Hiruzen chuckled before correcting the woman.

"On the contrary, Tatsuo is as much a pervert as Kasumi-chan here, no offense…" the man said, making sure to keep himself from getting in trouble with Kushina. "That little stunt he pulled was most probably Naruto's idea. Quite an interesting way to get their attention don't you think?" Kushina seemed mortified hearing that Naruto was the one who'd probably come up with such an idea. "Although, he did spend five years with Jiraiya…so it's to be expected really. I wonder what the point of this is though?" questioned the aged Hokage to no one in particular, chuckling as Kushina began sputtering at the mention of his white-haired student.

"Hey look!" Kasumi's voice attracted the attention of the two adults. They looked back to the orb as the scene seemed to change to Naruto. The blonde boy was running across the roofs of Konoha, getting extremely close to the Hokage's tower. Looking behind him he made sure that no one was following. He wondered if the plan had worked. If it had, he'd probably have to make it up to Tatsuo somehow. The boy was suddenly forced to stop in his advance as a kunai found its way into the ground infront of him.

"Man kid, you're really something else…" spoke the voice of the boar-masked ANBU as he crouched on the taller building infront of him. "To think, you'd sacrifice your own teammate just to ensure success. What have they been teaching you at the academy?" the man seemed to be genuinely saddened. Naruto looked behind him to see the other two male ANBU. The one wearing the boar mask jumped down onto the same building that Naruto stood on, slowly making his way towards the boy.

"I feel sorry for that kid. Captain and Tiger are probably going to rip him to shreds…" spoke the rabbit-masked ANBU, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Honestly, I won't blame him if he doesn't want to be a ninja after this…" The other ANBU wearing the horse mask nodded to his teammate, before looking back at their blonde target.

Naruto looked at his three opponents, knowing there was no way for him to win in a head-to-head fight. He may have been confident, but he wasn't an idiot. It seemed these three had got him…well, almost. He brought his hands up into a single handseal, the three ninja around him tensing in response. "You guys better buckle up…" the boy announced as his chakra began visibly swirling around him. The three ANBU drew their tantos in retaliation, but nothing could have prepared them for what was to come.

A large cloud of white smoke covered the place the blonde had been, obscuring their view of the boy. The three men gripped their swords tightly; they wouldn't underestimate their target again. As the smoke began to dissipate however, their grips on the blades loosened almost instantly. Infront of them stood what looked like an angel. Each took a shaky step back as a beautiful woman emerged from the dissipating smoke. She was fair-skinned and had a curvaceous figure that most women would kill for. The woman had long blonde hair tied into two pigtails that hung down to just above her waist. She had a heart-shaped face, her bright blue eyes shining with a glint of mischief. Three whisker-like marks adorned each of her cheeks and her alluring lips were curved up into a seductive smile.

The ANBU continued to stare, dumbstruck at the sight before them. Their weapons slipped from their grasps, clattering loudly on the ground beneath them. Their eyes were fixated on the blonde bombshell infront of them. The smoke around the girl began to clear up more, showing off her enormous chest and her perfectly curved hips. The angel before them crossed her arms beneath her ample bosom, successfully showing off her rack. Her voice was soft and melodious when she spoke, baring a hint of humor in it. "Like what you see?" The smoke around her that covered her chest and waist began to dissipate. That was when all four of the ninja around her seemed to fall back onto the ground and lay still.

The woman chuckled before being engulfed in a cloud of smoke. The smoke cleared to show a grinning blonde boy, his hands crossed across his chest as he looked around at the three unconscious ninja. "I call that my **Sexy Jutsu**!" the boy announced holding his fist in the air as a sign of victory. He looked over his handiwork for a few more seconds before remembering what he was supposed to be doing. The boy chuckled and then leapt off the building, making his way towards the Hokage's tower.

Back at the Hokage's office, the reactions of all those present were quite interesting to say the least. The Hokage himself had turned to face the window of his office, attempting to hide the trickle of blood that had escaped from his nose. Behind him, the younger of the two women was blushing up a storm, her face red as she continued to stare at the orb. Beside her stood the red-haired woman, her face completely blank of any emotion. She merely stood there with her gaze fixed on the blonde boy in the orb as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

"I believe I'll have to have a nice long chat with Jiraiya-san when he returns to the village…" she muttered, exuding an aura of death and despair. The Hokage truly felt sorry for his student, hoping that he wouldn't be coming by anytime soon. It was Kasumi who spoke up next, suggesting switching back to watching Tatsuo since she was ecstatic to see a fight between someone her age and two elite ninja. Hiruzen complied, the scene in his sphere changing with a wave of his hand. It had only been around ten minutes since they'd seen the boy but it seemed he hadn't fared too well in that time.

Tatsuo had received several cuts on his person and he was sure that he'd have several bruises forming on his body. The boy was currently stood in the middle of his two opponents, his attention being divided between the two. This left him quite vulnerable as his opponents were two of the strongest ninja in the village. Worst of all was that he hadn't even landed a single blow on either of them, although he really hadn't expected to. The boy was definitely tired, his labored breathing and half-lidded eyes a clear indication of that very fact, but he couldn't afford to give up yet. He needed to buy as much time as he could for his blonde comrade.

The two kunoichi seemed to offer him a few moments of respite, before darting at him once more. They were insanely fast, making it extremely difficult for him to trace their movements, even with the sharingan. Tatsuo leapt back, dodging an overhead swing from the purple haired ANBU. He then proceeded to block a roundhouse kick from the brunette. He could barely feel his arms anymore, but he knew that if he took an attack like that directly he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. The kick sent him skidding back on his feet, his sharingan spinning wildly in an effort to keep up with the two speedy ANBU.

The Uchiha brought his hands together, speeding through a few handseals even though his hands throbbed with pain in protest. The two ANBU halted their attacks, opting to see what the boy would do. Said boy brought his right hand up to his mouth, forming a ring with his thumb and index finger, before blowing through the ring. A large stream of fire spewed forth towards the two women, the heat radiating from it causing all three of the fighters to sweat slightly.

The tiger-masked ANBU sheathed her sword in one swift move, her hands then forming several handseals at a blinding speed. "Nice try!" she said, before a stream of water seemed to erupt from the front of her mask where her mouth would have been. The water and flames collided forming a large cloud of steam that filled the rooftop. The three ninja stood unaffected, their eyes locked on their opponents.

" **Fire Style: Jetstream**. That isn't something they teach at the academy…" commented the cat-masked woman. Her tone held a hint of curiosity as she stared at the boy infront of her. "That was quite rash. You could have set this entire building on fire." Her words caused Tatsuo to chuckle as he continued to eye the two women carefully.

"Like I didn't expect you to counter that move with ease…" the boy replied, his breathing beginning to return to normal as he recovered from using his technique. "I even held back on that one so that I wouldn't accidently cause any collateral damage." The boy spoke the truth. He had indeed held back some power while performing the jutsu, although not much. At most he could probably make the stream of flames slightly wider and hotter.

His two opponents remained silent, before preparing to charge the boy again. The boy tensed, his arms coming up in the same way they had before, a kunai in his right and his left held loosely in a defensive posture. This time, only the brown-haired ANBU ran at him. She didn't draw her tanto this time, something Tatsuo was mildly thankful for. His eyes followed her movement as she closed in before he sidestepped a swift forward punch. His left hand latched onto her extended arm but the woman twisted around in an instant, pulling him forward and driving her knee into his gut, forcing the air out of him.

Tatsuo's vision swam as he was flipped over and slammed painfully into the concrete floor below him. Pain racked through his body as he tried to regain any semblance of control over his senses. He felt his attacker's hand around his wrist and scowled. Twisting his back he used his legs to kick the tiger-masked ANBU straight in her stomach. Feeling the grip on his wrist loosen slightly Tatsuo grabbed the ANBU's hand and twisted forward. Her yelp of surprise didn't go unnoticed by her Captain as the woman rushed to help her comrade. Tatsuo smirked, forcing his victim to flip over him and slam into the ground using his feet that were still firmly planted in the woman's torso. He noticed his other enemy approaching him and untangled himself from the brown-haired kunoichi.

Neko found herself having to swiftly dodge several shuriken from the boy, before she reached her comrade. Tatsuo took one look at the downed ANBU before leaping back to avoid a diagonal slash from the ANBU Captain. He stumbled upon landing and fell onto the ground, pain racking his entire body. He noticed the tiger-masked ANBU getting back onto her feet and let out a sigh. It seemed she wasn't down for the count. He hadn't expected that to be the case, but he had hoped that she would atleast need a few minutes to recuperate. He sat there on the ground for a minute, getting used to the pain as he watched the purple-haired woman help the other one stand properly. A small smile graced his features as he realized that he'd actually landed a good hit on one of them.

"Okay…I'll admit that was unexpected…" he heard the tiger-masked woman say. She walked over towards him and he forced himself to stand on wobbly legs. "Wow. You're still standing…impressive…" She ran through about a dozen handseals, never stopping in her trek to him. Tatsuo's eyes focused in on the woman's hands, memorizing the handseals and chakra flow. Even though he'd probably lose, he could get a few new surprises for his bag of tricks from this little incident. Too bad that was what his opponent had expected of him.

" **Fantasia** …" she mumbled. The words had barely reached Tatsuo's ears when he suddenly felt nauseous. His vision grew blurry and the world around him seemed to spin uncontrollably. He felt an enormous sense of happiness aswell as sorrow. His emotions were spinning out of control, just like the world around him. The boy's heart was beating faster than ever before, the rhythmic thumping seemingly resounding in his ears. He felt like he was on the verge of throwing up but he couldn't do so at the same time. His sharingan was spinning wildly trying to analyze what was happening. The boy fell to his knees, the dizziness becoming overpowering.

He brought his hands together before gathering his chakra and then releasing it outside his body in a single go. His world seemed to return to normal, his emotions calming down as his eyes returned to spinning at a much slower pace. Sweat dripped down his face as he braced himself on the ground with his arms. It had been a genjutsu, but it was extremely powerful. The Uchiha looked up to see the tiger-masked ANBU standing infront of him. He gazed into the hazel-brown eyes behind her mask for but a moment before the woman lifted up her hand, bringing it down in a swift chopping motion. "Nice try kid…" that was all he heard before his world went dark.

"Well, it seems that Tatsuo-kun lost…not that I'd expect him to win in such a battle…" stated the Hokage as he leaned back in his seat. "But he did perform surprisingly well…" The two woman infront of him had varying reactions however. "So what did you think…?" questioned the Hokage, glancing out of his window.

"That was unfair! Tatsuo would have kicked their sorry butts!" shouted Kasumi. The girl seemed livid to say the least. "He just lost because he was fighting both of them at the same time!" It seemed like the girl had really enjoyed the fight. He wasn't sure why she was so angry that the boy lost however. The girl then resorted to pouting as she continued to stare at the orb, which was now blank.

"Well that was quite impressive…" Kushina stated. "He did extremely well for a genin…even though those two ANBU weren't going all out." She looked at Hiruzen before continuing. "He's definitely very talented…" The Hokage nodded, accepting the woman's evaluation of the young Uchiha. "What about Naruto?" he heard her question.

The Hokage chuckled before answering the woman's question. "He's disappeared…" Seeing the woman's confused expression he decided to explain. "You see…the way this technique works is that I can view anything as long as I know where it is…" Understanding dawned on the red-haired woman's face. "Yes…I don't know where he is. Either he isn't within my sensory range…or he's hiding himself better than any of us here can imagine," the Hokage explained. He was lying ofcourse. But only because he knew Naruto would want to make a grand entrance. He wasn't going to tell them that the boy was at the base of the tower right this moment. That would ruin the surprise.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. The Hokage acknowledged the knock by asking those behind the door to enter. The door opened, revealing Neko who was carrying Tatsuo over her shoulder. The woman entered the room, giving her leader a small bow. "Please lay Tatsuo-kun down on the sofa, Neko…" the Hokage stated, watching as the woman gently laid the boy down on the couch. "I assume you've called for a medic?" Hiruzen asked, receiving a nod in return.

"Well then, now that that's out of the way…" the old leader began. "What about Naruto-kun?" Kushina couldn't help but let out a small giggle and Kasumi ended up blushing furiously, upon receiving the reply from the cat-masked ANBU that the rest of her team was retrieving him. Even Hiruzen had trouble keeping the corner of his lips from twitching upwards. "Well then…I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens…" the man stated as he leaned back into his seat. Several minutes passed before the tiger-masked ANBU and another ANBU, this one wearing an eagle-like mask, entered the office.

The tiger-masked ANBU stood at attention next to her Captain, while the eagle-masked ninja began healing the various injuries that were present on Tatsuo. "You really went overboard…" muttered the man as he healed the boy's wounds. Other than that, things seemed quite normal for the most part.

The new ANBU continued to heal the young Uchiha for the next ten minutes before standing up and announcing that he was finished. "Thank you Eagle. You are dismissed…" Eagle nodded before leaving the Hokage's office. "The rest of your team seem to be running late, Neko. Are you sure they are okay?"

Neko stood still, not sure what to do in a situation like this. "I ordered them to retrieve the Uzumaki child. They should be back by now…" the woman mumbled, not sure what was keeping the rest of her team. "I…shall go search for them…" the woman stated as she moved for the door. The Hokage watched her leave, before he turned towards Kushina and Kasumi.

"Well…Naruto has fifteen minutes remaining…" the man stated. "If he is not within my office by the end of that time limit, he fails…" Kushina bit her lower lip and her younger look-alike gasped before looking away. "Tiger…" Hiruzen called after several minutes of waiting, causing the woman to stand at attention. "I hope you aren't too angry at Tatsuo-kun for his actions…" The woman looked back at the unconscious boy before looking back at her leader and shaking her head. "I'm sure he's quite sorry…isn't that correct Tatsuo-kun?"

Tiger let out a yelp as she found herself unable to move her arms or legs properly. She turned her head to see Tatsuo standing behind her, his arms held taut to his sides. "I'm really sorry…I hope you'll forgive me for both my earlier actions and for this…" the boy apologized. "It was Naruto's plan for the most part…the whole slap part too. But I helped him finish it off…the genjutsu I placed on you was totally improvised though," the boy finished.

It was at this moment that Tiger noticed it. The slight disturbance in her chakra flow. She was under a genjutsu! The woman let out a small burst of chakra, expunging the foreign chakra that Tatsuo had put into her from her system. Doing so revealed the ninja-wire wrapped around her torso and legs, keeping her arms pinned to her sides and her legs held close together. "What?! How?! When?!" was all the restrained ANBU member could say, her mind reeling from what was happening. She struggled against her bounds, causing the boy to clench his fists and pull them back, the wire around her tightening as a result and causing her to almost loose her balance. The boy behind her chuckled before looking towards Kasumi.

"Um…do I know you?" the black-haired boy asked before looking over at Kushina. "You too…" The boy turned back to Kasumi before nodding his head towards one of the windows of the Hokage's office. "Hey…could you please open that." Kasumi was confused, but she walked over to the window and opened it anyways. An orange blur jumped through the window immediately after it was opened. Naruto stood proudly in the Hokage's office, grinning victoriously with his eyes closed and his hands crossed infront of his chest.

"Ha! Take that old man! I did it!" the boy exclaimed, his face not losing the huge grin even for a moment. Everyone remained still for a few moments before the elder red-haired woman took a shaky step forward. Things seemed to go still as the next word left her mouth, the office being plunged into a silence that none had expected.

"Na-Naruto…" the woman stuttered slightly as she spoke the blonde boy's name. Her face was a mixture of nervousness, fear and excitement. Something that seemed impossible to all those who could see it. Naruto's eyes shot open, instantly zeroing in on the person who'd said his name. The blonde boy seemed just as surprised and shocked as the red-haired woman infront of him. The room was silent for a few moments before the blonde boy finally spoke.

"M-m-mom?!" he spoke, not sure if what he was seeing was true. The word sounded more like a question rather than a statement. The woman infront of him seemed to flinch slightly, but slowly nodded. And once more the room was plunged into silence.

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 **Well, that's chapter one. Hope it was atleast mildly interesting. Feel free to review or whatever. I'd love positive criticism to help me better my writing. Oh and if you haven't noticed by now...I'll be using terms from both the Japanese and English versions of the series. Meaning I'll be using names like Konohagakure and the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Terms like the Japanese honorifics and things like big brother and sis will also be used.**

 **Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this. And I sincerely hope you enjoyed yourself. Seeya!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back with chapter two! Before I get on with this I'd like to thank all of you who have read the first chapter, followed, reviewed and added this story to your favorites. It means so much to me to know that there are people out there who enjoy my writing. Sorry my updating schedule is so slow but with the length of the chapters and how lazy I can be sometimes its really hard for me to update faster. Plus I'm probably going to be a lot more busy now with classes starting up so...yeah. Also, sorry about any grammatical and spelling errors...I try and correct them whenever I find them. Feel free to tell me if you find any.** **With that out of the way, let's get on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...which I'm kind of glad for since I'd probably screw up the series if I did own it. Naruto and the characters from the series are owned by** **Masashi Kishimoto.**

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Chapter 2

The atmosphere was tense within the Hokage's Office. Kushina stood staring nervously at the blonde boy infront of her, who returned the gaze with confused yet hopeful eyes. Hiruzen merely sat in his chair, observing the events unfold. Kasumi was still standing next to the open window and Tatsuo was frozen in place with his eyes focused on his best friend, the ninja-wire going slack as his arms fell to his sides. Tiger wasn't affected by the transpiring events and so managed to escape her restraints with a quick substitution with one of the chairs placed in the rather spacious room.

"Mom…" muttered Naruto, taking a step towards the red-haired woman. "…Is that really you?" He began opening his arms, his eyes filled with unshed tears, when he noticed the woman infront of him flinch slightly and the slight shivering that overtook her body when he moved towards her. The boy brought his arms down to his sides, his fists clenched tightly into fists. He looked down to the ground, hiding his face from Kushina's view. He heard her call him once more, this time a little surer of herself. The blonde took a deep breath before raising his head once more, a large smile plastered on his face.

"You're back!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes closed with a hand rubbing the back of his head. "So…how have you been?" Kushina flinched once again, noting the slight shaky tone the boy spoke in. Hiruzen sighed, hating the way Naruto was acting at the moment. The boy shouldn't have to act like nothing was wrong. Tatsuo narrowed his eyes when he noticed his friend's strange behavior. He looked at the woman who Naruto was talking with, his mind reminding him of the few times he had seen her in a handful of pictures. She was indeed the blonde's mother, Kushina Uzumaki. And that meant the little girl was his sister.

"Big brother!" shouted Kasumi, leaping towards Naruto from behind and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Big brother! It's me, Kasumi!" the girl shouted, not noticing that her hug was consticting her brother's airway. The adults chuckled at the scene before them, except Kushina who seemed to be on the verge of tears. She couldn't believe she'd been so selfish, going so far as to separate the two siblings. Tatsuo let out a sigh before clearing his throat loudly. Once he gained the younger redhead's attention, the boy pointed to his blonde companion. Kasumi looked back at her older brother before realizing that she'd been suffocating him and loosened her grip on the boy's neck.

Naruto broke free of his sister's grasp and took in long, deep breaths. The boy looked at his younger sibling with wide eyes before pointing accusingly at her. "What the hell, Kasumi?! Are you trying to kill me?!" the boy shouted as the red-haired child shook her head and apologized. "Man…It looks like you're still the same…" the blonde muttered before looking back at her. "But you sure have grown…look at how tall you've gotten…"

Kushina couldn't help but smile at the reunion. She knew she'd made quite a few mistakes when it came to her son, but she was glad to see that he was still able to get along with his sister and maybe even her in the future. Her happiness turned to rage as she heard what the boy said next. "Even your chest has gotten bigger!" Tatsuo face-palmed at his friend's words, while Hiruzen chuckled. Tiger seemed at a loss for words, not sure what to say or do. Kushina, however, stalked over to her perverted son. The woman's hair waved around ominously behind her as she stood behind the unsuspecting boy.

"Na-ru-to!" the woman roared as she brought her fist down on the poor blonde's head. Naruto let out a yelp of pain before he found his face implanted into the ground below him. Kasumi was blushing, but crouched next to her brother and poked him in the head. She asked him if he was okay, to which he slowly lifted up one hand and gave her a thumbs-up. Kushina stood over her son's battered body, an aura of fury blazing around her.

The Hokage smiled at the scene, before clearing his throat. "Well, Naruto…" the man called. The Uzumaki boy lifted himself off the ground and looked towards the man he viewed as a grandfather. "You've completed the test it seems…so as promised you will be allowed to become a genin." Naruto's demeanor seemed to change immediately upon hearing those words as he let out a loud cheer before hopping around the entire room. Hiruzen coughed, making the boy pause in his antics and look at the man once more. "You will also receive the technique I promised you…but you must promise to bring it back to me as soon as you can."

The Hokage opened a drawer in his desk before retrieving a scroll and a headband. The man smiled before handing them to Naruto, who hesitated for only a moment before gingerly tying it around his head. The blonde had a goofy smile plastered on his face the entire time. The door was suddenly swung open as Neko rushed back in. Her eyes seemed to land on Naruto before she looked to her fellow ANBU in question. "Sorry Captain…they got me…" the tiger-masked woman mumbled. Neko visibly deflated with her head down as she stared at her feet.

"It's quite alright Neko," stated Hiruzen. "As I told you before…Naruto can be quite a handful." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when the Hokage gave him a mock glare. "Now…I will hear your report. Kushina, we can talk more tomorrow." The Hokage pulled out and tossed the woman a set of keys. "I assume you'll be living in your old house…" Kushina seemed puzzled but nodded.

"Naruto and Tatsuo…" both the boys stood at attention when they heard themselves mentioned. "You are free to do as you wish. Remember that teams will be assigned in three days." Both boys nodded before heading towards the door. "Oh and would you mind showing Kushina and Kasumi-chan around the village…I'm sure they've forgotten some of the layout of the place…"

Naruto seemed to freeze in place for a second before he smiled and nodded. Tatsuo noticed his friend's hesitation but chose to remain silent. The group of four bowed and left the room. Hiruzen watched them depart before letting out a long, tired sigh. He turned towards the two ANBU still present before smiling. "So…it seems like you've had quite an interesting day. Did you manage to find the rest of your team Neko?" the Hokage's voice was calm, but it was quite clear he was enjoying the situation. Tiger turned to look at her captain. Neko chose to remain silent.

A few minutes later Naruto made his way down one of the busy streets of Konoha, the two redheads following behind him with Tatsuo trailing behind the three. "This is Konoha's market district!" Naruto announced as he gestured to the various shops and stalls around them as they passed by. "Here you can get all your desired necessities, whether they're shinobi supplies or common trinkets." The two women behind him couldn't help but snicker at how the blonde acted like he was a tour guide.

Kasumi walked a little faster, catching up to her brother and starting a conversation with him. Kushina chose to remain a few steps behind the two, partly out of nervousness and partly out of fear. What confused her were the looks her son was getting from quite a few of the villagers that the four passed. Most of the people around them stared nervously at the boy, whispering amongst themselves. Others outright glared at the blonde boy not doing a thing to hide the hate they had in their gazes. Kushina couldn't understand what the reason behind these looks was however.

The woman was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice the black-haired boy walk up next to her. "Pretty sad isn't it?" he questioned. Kushina looked at him, the confusion clear in her eyes. "It's been like this ever since you left. People started believing that he was the Nine tails." Tatsuo looked down at the ground as he walked. "He became hated by most of them…" the boy swept his gaze over the people they passed before his eyes came to rest upon his blonde friend.

"Why?" it was all Kushina could utter, her eyes wide as she stared at the young Uchiha. The boy shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"People are idiots…" the boy answered as the group left the market district of Konoha behind. "A lot of people died on that night. It's something that most find hard to look past." Naruto laughed with his sister as the two shared stories. It was hard to believe that the two had been separated since they were four. "After you left it just got worse. And after that one night…" the boy stopped speaking, lowering his gaze to the ground. Kushina grew silent, wondering why the boy had stopped. "Naruto may seem happy…but he's had to deal with a lot of shit in his life. Don't think for a second that it will be easy to return to his life."

Kushina was about to say something when she was interrupted by Kasumi's excited yell. The two looked ahead to see her hopping around infront of a nice sized house. Kushina smiled upon seeing the house, memories of her time with Minato returning to the forefront of her mind. She and Tatsuo reached the place just as Naruto finished fiddling with the lock. "There you go!" the boy exclaimed as the door opened with a loud click. He handed the key to Kushina, who flinched a bit before accepting it.

"Naruto-kun…why did Hokage-sama have the keys to the house?" Kushina questioned. Naruto seemed to process her words for a few seconds before smiling.

"Oh! I haven't lived here for around nine years," the boy's words left Kushina shocked. She couldn't understand what the boy had meant. Upon seeing her confusion Naruto decided to clarify. "Well…I left with Pervy Sage when I was six and I've been living with Tatsuo ever since I've gotten back." The blonde pointed at his friend who just sighed. "But don't worry. I've kept the place cleaned up…" Kushina remained confused but decided to question the Hokage about it later on.

"You two are probably going to want to unpack so we'll be leaving now," Tatsuo stated. "We'd be happy to bring you anything you need. But I'm sure Naruto would like to get started on that technique the Hokage promised him…" Kushina nodded before moving to enter the house. Kasumi seemed far sadder at having to separate from her brother after having only met him a little while ago.

"Um…if you could maybe bring us some lunch?" Kushina asked, not wanting to bother the two boys too much. "I'll pay you for the cost-" Naruto waved his hand swiftly silencing the woman.

"Don't worry about it! We'll be right back!" the blonde stated as he turned to walk away. Tatsuo nodded to the older woman with a smile before moving after his blonde friend. The two walked away from the house, heading back the way they'd come.

"You really shouldn't act like everything's fine…" stated Tatsuo as he walked alongside the Uzumaki boy. "You sure you're ok?"

Naruto smiled softly at his friend as the two headed for one of the few places where Naruto wasn't treated badly. "I know it's not right…but I understand what Mom is going through." His words caused Tatsuo to raise an eyebrow. "She's still hurt. I just have to give her some time." The two boys continued their journey to Ichiraku Ramen in silence.

The day went by quickly after that. After getting their ramen to go, Naruto and Tatsuo split up. The black-haired Uchiha convinced his friend to go home and start working on the technique he'd received from the Hokage. The lazy boy then went ahead and delivered the ramen they'd got for Kushina and Kasumi to the two women, much to their delight. The boy then returned home to get some sleep. It wasn't until just after the sun had set that things started to get interesting again.

Naruto and Tatsuo had been on their way to return the scroll the Hokage had given the blonde. The two arrived at the old leader's office to find the man addressing what looked to be the entire shinobi population above genin rank. They'd been asked to wait outside of the large room the Hokage was having the meeting in. "What do you think is going on?" questioned Naruto, fiddling with the scroll in his hand. He was still tired after training non-stop since he'd gotten home that afternoon.

Tatsuo had his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he leaned back in his seat. The boy wasn't really paying attention to what was happening at the moment. "Big Brother!" The boy opened one eye to see the red-haired girl they'd met this afternoon approaching them. She was accompanied by her mother as the two made their way over to them. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to return this scroll to the Old man," Naruto replied as he held up the scroll in his hands. Kushina's eyes widened at the possibility that came to mind. "I finished learning the technique about an hour ago." Kasumi seemed surprised and immediately began pestering the blonde for details about the technique. Kushina watched the two siblings interact with a smile before sending a look towards the lazy boy leaned back against the wall. "Why are you two here?"

Kushina looked back to her son before replying. "I was summoned by Hokage-sama. I didn't want to leave Kasumi alone for fear that she'd end up destroying the house." Kasumi blushed before yelling at her mother, stating that she wasn't that irresponsible, much to her brother's amusement. The four didn't have to wait too long after that until those present in the meeting began to rush out. The Hokage was the last to do so and, upon seeing the four, lead them to his office.

Once there he explained the situation to the four confused shinobi. "Someone has stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals," the old leader stated in a grave tone. His words caused Kushina to gasp, but they gained no such response from the three others present in the room. "I currently have every ninja ranked chunin of higher searching for the culprit. I called you because being a jounin I would like you too to help in the search." Kushina nodded to the man's request before the Hokage turned to look at Naruto.

"Done already Naruto-kun?" the man asked the blonde boy who nodded to him with a grin and handed the old man the scroll in his hands. "Well done. I expected no less from you." The Hokage took the scroll and placed it on his desk. "I'm assuming you want Tatsuo-kun to learn the technique aswell?" Hiruzen questioned not looking at the two boys. He didn't have to do so to see the sheepish look the blonde had on his face. The old man sighed before turning to face Tatsuo. "You have my permission, but know that this jutsu is extremely dangerous. But seeing your current chakra capacity, I'd say that you can manage up to three clones at a given time." The man's voice was serious when he spoke, indicating how dangerous the matter truly was.

Naruto looked over to see his friend nodding. "I understand Hokage-sama…" the Uchiha boy stated. The Hokage nodded his acknowledgement before returning to his seat behind his desk.

The group of four exited the office moments later. Kushina asked the two boys to take care of Kasumi while she was busy with the search. After separating, the three made their way back to Tatsuo's house. On the way there Naruto explained the concept of his new jutsu to his sister, demonstrating the technique by forming a cross-shaped handseal with the first two fingers of both his hands. A clone of the blonde Uzumaki popped into existence next to the three. Upon closer inspection it turned out that the clone was solid, unlike the normal clone technique taught at the academy.

The boy was slightly disappointed by the fact that his sister already knew the technique. He was sure that Tatsuo had already managed to analyze the technique with his sharingan and so would no doubt be able to use it aswell. The three walked through the nearly empty streets of the Uchiha district, making for an eerie atmosphere. Tatsuo's house was indeed in the Uchiha district like Kasumi had originally thought, hearing about the famous clan from her mother. The house itself was on the far outskirts of the district, having very few houses near it. It was an average sized house with a simple design, having nothing to draw too much attention to it.

The house seemed to have a sizeable training field behind it. She assumed that was for more ninja-related exercises. Entering the building, Kasumi let her eyes wander. She didn't really notice anything too spectacular. It seemed quite bland for the most part. She followed her brother and his friend into the living room where the three stopped.

Tatsuo noticed it immediately when the three had entered the house. Some may have called him paranoid, and maybe he was, but he'd made a habit of scanning his house with his sharingan whenever he entered the building. Who could blame him really after the kind of past he had. He'd memorized the layout of his house over the years and he could certainly notice when someone had been in his house. The slightly bent picture frame on the wall and the moved rug infront of the living room entrance. He felt the breeze coming in through the door that lead out to the training field and frowned.

"Out back then…" he muttered before walking towards the source of the breeze. He heard Naruto and Kasumi follow behind him, but at this point he wasn't too worried. The three came out onto the field to find a single person waiting for them. The man's white hair blew gently in the breeze and the moonlight reflected slightly off of the headband he wore. The man had a rather large scroll hung across his back and wore the standard attire of a konoha shinobi. "Mizuki-sensei…?"

The figure noticed them before a wicked smile came across his face. "So you're here. Finally!" the man exclaimed as he gazed at the three. "I don't understand why you're so important but whatever!" the man shouted before sending several shuriken flying at the three. Tatsuo merely stood there, not worried in the slightest.

" **Wind Style: Great Breakthrough**!" exclaimed Naruto, having run through several handseals. A sudden gust of wind knocked the projectiles out of the air and forced the chunin instructor to cover his eyes. Tatsuo didn't wait for him to recover, the boy flashed through several handseals before taking a deep breath. The boy blew out, a stream of water being released from his mouth. The pressurized torrent of water slamming into the stunned man and smashing him into the back wall that bordered the training field. "Cool. When'd you learn that one?" questioned Naruto, sending a questioning look towards his friend.

"Today…" Tatsuo replied, his eyes still gazing lazily at his former teacher. "One of the ANBU used it." The boy watched the older man slowly climb to his feet before coughing several times. The boy frowned slightly before turning around to face the person who stood in the doorway the three kids had just come out from. "So…who might you be?"

Kasumi and Naruto sent a glance at the man, both having seen him come out of the house a few seconds ago. They were careful not to let Mizuki out of their sight. The other man had long brown hair that fell down to his shoulders. He had tanned skin with a muscular build. His eyes were black and he had a scar running across his face, from the bottom of his right eye, across his nose and ending at his left cheek. He wore a green vest and baggy black pants. The man also wore black shinobi sandals and had weapon pouches strapped to his thighs.

"Mizuki…" the man's voice was deep and gruff as he addressed the other man. "…Hurry up and get out of here. The Forbidden Scroll of Seals is too valuable to risk losing." His words caused the three genin infront of him to glance at the scroll on the former chunin instructor's back. The white-haired chunin grit his teeth but nodded. "I'll take care of these three…"

Mizuki smirked before leaping onto the wall and then out of view. Naruto cursed before chasing after him. The other man grunted before leaping for the boy, only to find himself being kicked in the face. Kasumi watched Tatsuo kick the newcomer to the ground as he leapt after her brother before the boy turned towards her, his sharingan eyes gazing at her with confidence. "Kasumi, go help your brother. That scroll is far more important than this idiot," his voice was calm but held a sense of urgency. The redhead nodded to him before leaping off after her brother.

Tatsuo smiled as the girl left before his expression grew serious. He turned back to see his opponent getting back to his feet. "Who are you? What do you want?" the boy asked with a kunai already in hand. The other man didn't reply, choosing to remain silent as he worked his jaw back into place. He stood back up and twisted his neck, a series of snaps and cracks indicating that he was loosening himself for a fight.

"That was a good kick…" the man said finally, having stretched quite a bit. "Name's Eiji Ito. You're Tatsuo Uchiha right?" Upon receiving no answer, the man's smile grew. "Well, my mission is to retrieve you. Whether you choose to resist is up to you…" the man took a fighting stance, his legs bent and spaced widely. His arms were held infront of him as he stared at the boy.

Tatsuo was glad he'd told Kasumi to go after Naruto. Because if this man was here for him, he'd need to focus on this fight completely. Not having worked with Kasumi, he wouldn't be able to fight too well with the girl. He formed a single handseal before two clones popped into existence beside him. One of the clones rushed off, on its way to inform the Hokage of what was happening and the other stood back, ready to aid his creator.

Tatsuo assumed his fighting stance, his legs spaced and arm held lazily out infront of him. His grip on the kunai tightened and his sharingan eyes were spinning wildly. His clone stepped back, his hands held closely in preparation for a jutsu. There were a few seconds of silence before Eiji rushed at his target. Tatsuo rushed at him head on, his eyes focused on the man.

Meeting in the middle the two engaged. The older shinobi twisted around, sending a hard roundhouse kick at the boy. Tatsuo jumped over the kick, aiming his own kick at the man's head only to be blocked by his opponent's arm. Using the arm as a platform the boy leapt off, flipping backwards in the air to land on the ground. He didn't even look up before rolling to the side to avoid a drop kick from the man. " **Fire Style: Great Fireball**!" the man leapt out of the way as the clone launched a devastating ball of flames at him, his right hand held in a half tiger handseal.

He had no time to recover as Tatsuo rushed at him again. The boy swiped at him with his kunai causing him to stumble back to avoid the wide slash. The black-haired boy pushed forward, bringing his weapon around for another strike. Eiji narrowed his eyes before catching the boys arm in a tight grip. He smirked and looked at the boy, only to end up staring into the youth's swirling red eyes. His world grew hazy and his grip on the boy's arm loosened.

Tatsuo smiled as he pulled his arm free and latched onto the man's arm with his left. He could have killed the man but he needed to capture him. At that moment the man's eyes grew more focused and he let out a low growl. "You brat!" he roared as he attempted to punch the younger ninja. It seemed he'd broken out of the genjutsu. Tatsuo cursed before leaping back. The man attempted to rush at him but was then forced to dodge a hail of kunai. He swore and glared at the boy's clone that continued to pester him.

The man turned back to see Tatsuo rushing at him once more and smiled. Running through several handseals he slammed his hands into the ground. " **Earth Style: Opening Earth Rising Excavation**!" the man roared as the earth infront of him seemed to erupt upwards, several pillars rising at a shocking speed. Tatsuo was caught off guard by the technique and was tossed painfully into the air by the rising pillars. The boy let out a pained cry before straightening himself in the air. He ran through several handseals before breathing in, his chest expanding as he gathered air into his lungs.

" **Wind Style: Greath Breakthrough**!" the boy exclaimed as he blew out a stream of high-pressured wind. Eiji didn't have time to dodge, so the man used chakra to stick his feet onto the ground to prevent being blown away. Several cuts appeared on them man's skin aswell as quite a few tears in his clothes. The man didn't notice the boy's clone running through a chain of handseals to his left. He only noticed it when he felt the heat. And in another moment he was engulfed in raging flames that were fueled by the wind.

Tatsuo landed on one of the earthen pillars in a crouch as he stared at the dark cloud of smoke that the explosion had produced. Once the smoke died down though he noticed the distinct lack of the man's burnt body. A yelp of surprise from his clone caused him to look to his right, only to see the clone disperse as it was stabbed from behind. Eiji pulled himself out of the ground completely before dusting himself off. " **Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique** ," the man casually announced as he gazed at the boy standing on the tall pillar in the middle of the field.

"You're pretty good kid. But you aren't experienced…" the man explained as he began walking towards the boy. "Being a shinobi requires you to do terrible things. You haven't even taken a life yet have you…" the man stated more than asked. He hadn't expected to boy to look away from him, the young ninja's eyes seeming to cloud over as he remembered something. The man didn't waste time however and ran at the genin, taking advantage of his momentary hesitation.

Tatsuo snapped out of his thoughts too late. His eyes widened as he saw the man rush up the pillar to get to him. The Uchiha jumped off the pillar just as Eiji reached the top but the man leapt off after him and grabbed him by his face. Tatsuo slammed his feet into his opponent's gut as the two plummeted to the ground and his hands formed a familiar handseal. The man let out a pained grunt, but did not release the young ninja. Upon reaching the ground, Tatsuo felt immense pain as he was smashed painfully into the earth. Softening the fall by strengthening his body with chakra had helped immensely, but every bone in his body seemed to be screaming in protest at the moment.

Eiji let go of the boy as the dust around them cleared and jumped back to avoid the shuriken from the two clones the boy had made during their fall. The man was forced to leap aside to avoid another volley of shuriken from one of the clones as the other one helped the orignal Tatsuo to his feet. The boy glared at his opponent as his clones disappeared. His breathing was labored and his eyes were practically closed. The boy was hunched over slightly as he tried to catch his breath and regain his bearings. He was beyond thankful to Naruto for letting him copy the Shadow Clone Jutsu since he'd probably have lost without it.

"So you have killed someone, eh?" the man asked, as he rotated his arms. "Who was it?" Tatsuo's eyes grew cold at the man's words. He tried his best to avoid thinking about that night and he'd done a good job in forgetting about it for the most part until today. "I doubt it was someone too important if you were allowed to become a ninja after it." Those were the man's last words before he found himself under a relentless assault by the young Uchiha.

"I'll kill you!" the boy roared as he rushed at the man. He let the kunai in his right hand fly towards his opponent only to have it dodged. A few seconds later and he'd closed the distance between himself and his target. Eiji went for a straight punch, only for the boy to duck under it with an insane amount of speed. Tatsuo grabbed the man's outstretched left arm by the wrist before striking with a brutal palm strike at the man's elbow. A sickening snap echoed as the boy broke the man's arm inwards at the joint, Eiji letting out a howl of pain. The genin didn't seem to care about his own injuries at that point, his mind set on killing the man infront of him.

Tatsuo didn't stop there however. The boy let go of the man's broken arm and spun around to nail the man with a powerful elbow strike to his torso. He ignored his opponent's grunt of pain and turned around to deliver a vicious right hook to the man's jaw. Eiji stumbled away from the young ninja, his mind reeling from the brutal beating he'd received and the unholy pain he currently felt. He heard the boy behind him and turned back around. Trying to smash his elbow into the boy, he was surprised to find the black-haired genin ducking under his strike to slip into his guard. The next moment he felt the boy place a foot on his bent knee and boost himself up to smash his knee into his jaw. The man tasted blood as his teeth dug into his tongue and his vision swam due to the immense pain that surged through his body.

Eiji stumbled backwards, his vision little more than a blur at this point. He fell to his knees as he tried to process what was happening. His left arm was broken and he was sure the boy had broken his jaw. He could see the boy walking over to him, but he didn't have the strength left to stand with the pain wracking his body. He could see the expression on the young ninja's face. He recognized it quite well. It was the face of a shinobi who knew of the grim responsibilities of ninja. The face of a ninja who had accepted the fact that they had to kill. He saw the boy pull out a single kunai and then his world went dark.

Meanwhile, Naruto chased after his former sensei through the trees. He hoped Tatsuo was okay but he knew that the boy would have wanted him to go after Mizuki. He could see the chunin up ahead and smirked. The blonde sped up, hopping from one thick branch to the next. "Hey traitor!" the boy shouted, his hands going through a few handseals. " **Wind Style: Great Breakthrough**!" the boy roared as he blew out a pressurized stream of air that knocked the speeding chunin off the branch he was on and into one of the trees. The man let out a pained grunt before falling to the forest floor. He landed on his feet with a loud thud and glared at his former student as the boy landed in the clearing infront of him.

The boy smirked at the white-haired man as he gestured to the scroll on the man's back. "Hand it over bastard!" the boy's words caused the elder shinobi to growl. "And I might go easy on you!" At that moment Kasumi too landed in the clearing, beside her brother. "Kasumi? What are you doing here?" the blonde questioned as he looked at his sister.

"Tatsuo said to come help you…" she stated as she glanced at Mizuki. Naruto cursed inwardly, knowing that he should have expected that. His only concern was that he didn't know how strong Tatsuo's opponent was.

"Well then, we'll just have to finish this quick and go help him then!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned to look back at Mizuki. To his surprise, the man had an oversized shuriken spinning around his right arm. The man launched the weapon at the two, only to have the siblings leap over it. Naruto returned his attention to their opponent once more, running through a chain of handseals. " **Wind Style: Air Bullets**!" several spheres of compressed air formed around the boy before being propelled towards Mizuki.

The traitorous ninja saw them coming and leapt back to avoid them. Dust flew into the air where the balls of wind made contact with the ground. Naruto landed on the ground and looked up just in time to see his former teacher rushing at him. " **Water Style: Wild Water Wave**!" Kasumi shouted as she shot forth a torrent of water from her mouth. The stream of liquid hit the surprised instructor head on, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Naruto turned to his sister and gave her a thankful smile. She smiled at him in return.

The girl's face suddenly grew horrified as she saw what happened next. "Big Brother!" she shouted, causing the blonde Uzumaki to turn back to their opponenet. He saw the shuriken flying towards him and raised his arms on instinct. A second later a few clones popped into existence infront of him, taking the shuriken in his place. Kasumi let out the breath she'd been holding when she saw that her brother was alright. She looked back over to see Mizuki glaring at the two of them.

"You brats!" he shouted in outrage before taking a deep breath. His expression changed, a sinister smile plastering itself onto his face. "Naruto, would you like to know why everyone in this village hates you?" the man questioned, reaching for the metal bracer he wore on his right wrist. Naruto seemed intrigued and Kasumi seemed hesitant to attack upon seeing how her brother was acting. "It's simple really…" the man stated as he pressed his fingers gently against the seal painted onto the bracer. "You have the Nine Tailed Fox sealed within you!" he shouted as he unsealed another oversized shuriken from the seal on the bracer. "You are the Kyubi!"

Noticing how the blonde wasn't too shocked by his declaration the man switched targets. He saw how Kasumi was more shocked than her brother and launched the weapon at her. "Die!" he roared as the metal star-like weapon flew at the girl with devastating speed. The girl herself snapped out of her shocked state too late. The next thing she heard was the sound of metal tearing through clothes and flesh. She looked up to see her brother's pained face as he gazed down at her.

"Big Brother…?" the girl questioned, tears in her eyes. Naruto gave her a reassuring smile before lifting himself off of her. The boy slowly rose to his feet before turning to face the person who dared attack his dear sister. It was only when he turned around that Kasumi was able to see the extent of his injury. She let out a loud gasp, bringing her hands up to her mouth on instinct. A long jagged cut extended from the bottom left of his back up to his right shoulder, blood leaking freely from points where the wound was particularly deep. The shuriken had ripped clean through both his jacket and shirt.

The blonde was probably in unbelievable pain, yet he was standing unflinching. He seemed a bit hunched over but his eyes held unimaginable hate for the white-haired chunin infront of him. "Hey bastard!" the boy roared, his voice a bit deeper than before. Steam began to rise off of the wound on his back, the pupils in his eyes becoming slits as the wind around him began heating up slightly. "You can talk shit about me all you want! And you can hurt me all you want!" Dark blue chakra began swirling around the boy as he brought his hands up into a cross-shaped handseal. "But if you try to lay a single hand on those I care about…!"

Kasumi watched on in awe as the chakra around the boy seemed to visibly shape itself. The wound on the young ninja's back seemed to heal at an extraordinary rate. Mizuki watched on in horror as his former student's chakra seemed to take the form of a fox. The man took a step back from the intense killing intent directed at him as the boy released his chakra in one single burst. "I'll kill you!" he roared and the entire clearing was blanketed in a large cloud of white smoke.

Mizuki gulped as he stared at what the smoke revealed as it dissipated. Hundreds of clones of the blonde ninja surrounded him from all sides. Standing in the clearing, hanging from the branches of the trees and even standing horizontally with their feet stuck to the trees themselves. All of the copies of the boy had predatory smirks on their faces as the stared at their prey. Mizuki's last coherent thought was that he was screwed. And then the Naruto clones descended upon him like a flock of vultures.

Naruto helped Kasumi up to her feet before the two walked over to the brutally beaten Mizuki. The two looked down at the crumpled body of the unconscious man before Naruto retrieved the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. "Big Brother…" Kasumi started, gazing at her brother's now healed back. "…Your back…" the younger girl trailed off. Naruto turned to look at the girl before smiling. He looked tired after what had happened, the battle and injury definitely having worn him out.

"…You don't know yet? Don't worry, I'll get things explained to you in a bit…" the blonde stated before they turned back to the half-dead Mizuki. "So, what do we do about him?" A few minutes passed as the two argued about it before they decided to take him with them. The two made several clones that tied up the traitorous chunin using ninja wire. On their way back, the two found themselves meeting up with several ANBU who escorted the two genin to the Hokage who was currently at Tatsuo's home.

Upon arrival, the two ran over to where Tatsuo sat on his porch with the old leader of the village. The black-haired boy seemed rather depressed. "Tatsuo!" Naruto called out upon reaching his friend. "What happened?" Tatsuo looked up at the two before smiling gently.

"You two are alright," he looked the two over and noticed the state of Naruto's attire. "What happened?"

"We're fine!" Naruto shouted at the boy before looking at the Hokage. "Old man! What happened here?!"

Hiruzen watched things play out calmly. He took a deep breath as he heard Naruto's question before speaking. "Tatsuo-kun here is fine for the most part," his words caused the blonde Uzumaki to visibly relax. "He did very well considering the situation, as did you two…" Hiruzen turned to Tatsuo before placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you going to be alright Tatsuo-kun?"

"Yeah…" Tatsuo stated as he got to his feet. "I knew what I was signing up for when I became a shinobi…" The boy turned and walked into his house. He needed to be alone for a while and sleep this whole thing off.

Naruto stared at his friend as he walked back into the house before looking at the Hokage. "He'll be fine Naruto-kun…" the old man spoke as he looked back at the ANBU checking over the place. "He just needs some rest."

Naruto was about to say something when he was halted by someone crying his and Kasumi's names. He turned to see Kushina rushing over to the three of them. The woman wrapped Kasumi in a tight hug, muttering about how she was so scared something had happened to the two of them. She looked over at Naruto and the boy saw the tears in her eyes. He moved over to the two women, noticing the slight increase in the elder woman's breathing. Stopping a few steps away from the two he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hey mom!" he exclaimed, closing his eyes and offering her a wide grin. "Sorry about worrying you! I didn't mean to…" Kushina looked at her son, knowing he was trying his best to not let the sorrow he felt show. The woman got up, leaving her daughter for a moment before moving over to her son. Naruto opened his eyes, widening them slightly when he saw his mother kneeling infront of him.

"Naruto-kun…" the red-haired beauty started. "I'm sorry for what I've done. Thank you…for protecting Kasumi-chan. Thank you…for protecting me." She wrapped the younger boy in a tight hug, despite the shivering that overtook her body when she did so. "I'm sorry for being a terrible mother! Please forgive me!" Sobs wracked her body and she was shivering uncontrollably now but she didn't care. The pain in her heart overrode the fear in her mind. She felt the boy in her grasp shift before she felt him slowly push her away. Looking up she saw his smiling face and his bright blue eyes staring at her.

"What are you talking about, mom?" the boy questioned, doing his best not to burst into tears and simply begin crying in the older woman's embrace. "You're not a terrible mother! There isn't anything to forgive!" The boy had to take a deep breath to keep his voice from breaking at this point. "Now…you haven't told Kasumi about the seals…" He tried his best to change the conversation, noticing the tears his mother was trying to hold back. "I think you should…Mizuki said some things about it so…"

Kushina let out a small gasp before turning to see her daughter staring at the ground. She turned back, only to see Naruto moving back into the house. "I'm going to go check on Tatsuo, okay?" he shouted back as he walked out of sight. Kushina didn't move, simply kneeling on the ground with tears running down her cheeks. Kasumi walked up to her mother and stroked her back, trying to calm her down. Hiruzen watched the events unfold with mixed feelings. He turned back and looked up into the star-filled sky. He was sure Naruto was crying at the moment aswell.

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 **Chapter two is a wrap! I'm still getting used to the fight scenes but I hope the one's in this chapter were alright. With that done we can move on to...other stuff! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter...and thanks for taking the time to read it. See you all next week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hiya! Back with another chapter. Jeez, can't believe how hard it's been to write over the past week. But...I'm going to stick with the schedule and update again this week. Anyways, thanks to all those who have followed, favourited and stuff. Really means a lot to me. Hopefully I don't disappoint any of you with this next chapter though. So, here we go then!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything such as abilities and events from the series. I do own the original characters and ideas that I put into this story. Unless my mind has tricked me into believing that they're mine when they are not...in which case, ignore my insane babbling.**

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Chapter 3

Tatsuo sighed as he was forcefully pulled along by a hyperactive blonde as he escorted his sister to the academy. It was the day they'd be assigned into teams and Naruto could not be more excited. The boy had literally been bouncing around the entire house making quite a ruckus. Kasumi seemed a bit more subdued but the black-haired Uchiha could clearly see that the girl had a spring in her step. Tatsuo himself wasn't too excited. He was far too lazy to be excited over something that would pave the way to him having to do more strenuous activities. All he really wanted was to spend his time in a peaceful manner.

Passing through the large archway that served as the entryway into the academy grounds, the three genin made their way into the building and towards their usual classroom. Tatsuo noticed Kasumi getting more fidgety as they got closer to their class. The boy sighed before tapping the girl on the shoulder. She spun around to face him, her face slightly panicked. Tatsuo gave her a reassuring smile and a thumbs-up, letting her know that she'd be fine. The girl seemed to be a bit more relaxed after that.

Arriving at the entrance to their classroom, Naruto sent his sister a reassuring smile before raising a single leg. Tatsuo sighed the moment his blonde friend did so before looking away as the boy kicked the door open, gaining the attention of all those who were present inside. "Naruto Uzumaki has arrived!" the boy shouted walking into the room, an embarrassed Kasumi following him with Tatsuo lazily bringing up the rear. Everyone in the room seemed to go quiet when the three arrived before Naruto turned to Kasumi. "Cmon Sis! I'll introduce you to my friends!" he exclaimed before dragging the girl over to a particular group of students.

Tatsuo merely stood at the front of the room for several minutes before walking over to an empty seat and sitting down. He placed his head down on his arms and tried to get a few more minutes of sleep.

Naruto dragged his sister over to one of the higher rows in the class, waving all the way to a few people who were sitting there. The boy came to a halt infront of a group of five, four boys and one girl. "Hey guys! What's up?" he greeted the five, gaining several different reactions from those infront of him.

A wild-looking boy wearing a grey hoodie gave him a smirk, showing off his sharp fangs. On his cheeks were two upside-down red triangles. A white-furred puppy sat on his head, further messing up his brown hair. "Hey Naruto!" the boy exclaimed, punching the blonde genin in the shoulder. "What's up? You ran out on us yesterday!" The dog atop the boy's head barked twice, his owner looking up at him before grinning.

The second boy wore a light-grey jacket with an upturned collar that hid his face aswell as baggy black pants. He had bushy brown hair and sported black sunglasses that hid his eyes. The boy merely continued to stare at am insect crawling in the palm on his hand, nodding to the blonde as his only response to the greeting.

The boy in the seat beside him raised his head from its place on his arms and let out a loud yawn. He had black hair tied up into a ponytail and a green-lined mesh t-shirt underneath a short-sleeved grey jacket. The boy looked over at Naruto and then at the red-haired girl standing beside the Uzumaki boy. He shook his head before letting out another loud yawn. "Troublesome…" the boy muttered before returning to his nap.

The only girl of the group seemed to stare shyly at the blonde arrival, a light blush adorning her cheeks. She had short blue hair in a hime-cut style, with two longer bangs framing her face. She wore a cream-coloured jacket with fur lining the hem and cuffs along with blue pants. "Um…hello…Naruto-kun…" the girl muttered, her voice extremely slow.

The last person was a rather large boy with spiky brown hair and red swirls on his cheeks. He wore black shorts, a green shirt with a green haori over it and a long white scarf. The boy was currently ripping through a pack of chips without a care in the world. He looked at Naruto and the redhead with him and said a muffled hello through a mouthful of chips.

"Hey guys! I'd like to introduce you to my younger sister, Kasumi!" the blonde genin exclaimed, gesturing to the red-haired girl trying her best to hide behind him. "She's been out of the village for a while. But she's back to be a ninja!"

The group of five gave various reactions upon looking over the girl, having known about her from when Naruto spoke of her before. Shikamaru yawned and gave the girl a lazy wave. The boy then proceeded to return to his nap. Choji muttered another hello with his mouth full and Shino merely nodded at the girl. Hinata gave the girl a small smile before muttering a 'nice to meet you.'

"Woah!" Kiba exclaimed as he looked over Naruto's red-haired sibling. The brunette threw his arm around his blonde friend before giving the boy a feral grin. "Naruto! Why didn't you tell me you had such a hot sister!" the boy shouted, causing Kasumi to blush slightly. Naruto on the other hand scowled before pounding the feral-looking boy once on the head, the white dog leaping off to avoid being hit.

"Hey mutt! Don't go hitting on my little sister now!" Naruto shouted, sending a glare towards Kiba as the boy nursed the bump on his head. The blonde then sent the small white dog an apologetic look. "Sorry Akamaru…" Kasumi pouted behind her brother, not liking how defensive he was of her.

The boy turned to face the redhead, ignoring her pout and pulling her forward. "Kasumi, these are my friends!" the boy exclaimed as he began to introduce the group of five people. "This is Shikamaru Nara. He's the laziest person you'll ever meet. Even lazier than Tatsuo!" Naruto tapped the napping boy's skull with a finger as he introduced him to his sister. The black-haired boy didn't even look up, just muttering something about 'troublesome blondes.'

"This is Choji Akimichi!" Naruto continued, patting his big-boned friend on the back. "He enjoys eating a lot, but he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet." The large boy offered Kasumi some chips, which the girl politely declined. Naruto leaned over to his sister before whispering in her ear, "Don't ever call Choji fat. It's taboo…"

"This is Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he threw an arm around the blushing girl before rubbing his cheek against hers. "She's from the Hyuga clan but she's really nice. She does have a weird habit of fainting though so-" Naruto had to catch the girl next to him as she went slack in his arms. Looking down at her it turned out that she'd fainted. "Hinata-chan!"

Kasumi turned to look at the others present but they seemed quite alright with what had happened. Choji smiled at her before speaking up as Naruto placed Hinata at her desk. "It's fine. This happens pretty much every day."

"Well…" the blonde Uzumaki stated when he was done situating the girl comfortably in her seat. "…Moving on. This is Shino Abrume. He likes insects and doesn't talk too much. But he's a really cool guy." Naruto waved his hand over to Shino who nodded to the boy's sister.

"And last and most certainly least we have Kiba," his words sparked an argument between him and the feral looking boy as the two butted heads. Naruto managed to stop himself from letting the argument go on for too long and returned to introducing the now scowling brunette. "He's from the Inuzuka clan." The blonde proceeded to ignore his feral friend in favour of picking up the white-furred puppy and holding it out to his sister. "And this here is Akamaru. He may be a dog but he's really smart. Way more than Kiba…" And that final comment lead to the blonde Uzumaki getting into a tussle with the brown-haired Inuzuka.

Kasumi let this go on for a little bit before she smiled. "Um, it's nice to meet you all. I hope we can all be good friends." It wasn't a few seconds after she'd said this that she noticed how many people in the class seemed to have gone silent. She turned around and looked around, her eyes coming to rest on two people in particular who seemed to be the reason for the silence. One of them was a black-haired boy with spiky hair at the back and two longer bangs framing his face. He wore a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with a high collar and the Uchiha crest on the back. The boy also wore white arm warmers and white shorts. His black eyes stared coldly at the other boy, who stared back at him with a bored gaze.

"Sasuke…" Tatsuo greeted calmly, not at all bothered by the attitude of the boy infront of him. Sasuke was one of the two remaining Uchihas who were loyal to Konoha. The boy had changed after the massacre of the entire clan, becoming cold and distant aswell as obsessed with revenge. He had also become proud and overconfident, something Tatsuo feared would lead him into dangerous situations in the future. But he had plenty of skill to back up his confidence, proven by how he had passed at the top of the class.

"Tatsuo…" muttered Sasuke, his eyes staring deeply into his fellow clan member's. He couldn't understand why the boy infront of him wasn't like him. He was also an Uchiha and hence should also have been intent on getting revenge for the massacre of their clan. But the boy chose to be lazy and sleep most of the day away. That didn't mean he wasn't skilled though.

The two continued to stare at eachother for a few more seconds until they heard the sound of someone running towards the class. Tatsuo sighed before returning to his nap while Sasuke let out a 'hn' and moved to his usual seat by the window. A moment later, two people burst through the entrance of the classroom. Both of them were girls and they were currently arguing about who would be sitting next to sasuke.

The first girl had long pink hair, green eyes and fair skin. She wore a short-sleeved red dress with white ring-like designs on it. Tatsuo was sure that the dress although seeming quite casual was no doubt designed to keep from hindering a ninja in combat. She also wore dark green shorts and standard ninja sandals. This was Sakura Haruno, the top kunoichi in class according to her results.

The other girl was also fair-skinned with blue eyes. She had long pale-blonde hair tied into a long ponytail with several bangs covering the right side of her face. She wore a short purple vest like blouse with a raised collar, a purple apron skirt that was cut off on the sides with bandages covering her stomach and legs. She also wore purple and white elbow warmers and standard ninja sandals. This was the heiress of the Yamanaka clan, Ino Yamanaka.

The two girls seemed to be arguing about who would get to sit next to Sasuke, much to the amusement of many of those present. It wasn't until Iruka entered the room and shouted at everyone to quiet down that the two girls stopped. Sakura ended up sitting next to Sasuke, being the one who was closer to him at the moment. Ino, seeing this, let out a groan before her eyes panned over the room. She saw the empty seat beside Tatsuo and smiled. Even if he wasn't Sasuke, he was one of the most handsome students in the class. And so she ended up seated next to the black-haired boy who offered her a lazy wave and a smile.

Iruka began his speech once the class had settled down, stating how he was proud of all of them. He went on to describe the duties they'd be asked to undertake as shinobi and how the road ahead would be difficult. Tatsuo zoned out during most of it, already knowing quite well what awaited him in the world of ninja. The boy chose to let his mind wander to other things. It wasn't until his Sensei began listing out the various teams that the boy began to pay attention.

"Team 6 will comprise of Tatsuo Uchiha…" the black-haired youth's ears perked up once he heard his name. "…Naruto Uzumaki…" His lips twitched as he kept himself from smiling at his blonde companion's loud cheer. "…and Kasumi Uzumaki," Iruka stated with a smile on his face. He was sure that this team would go on to be great. "Your Sensei will be Kushina Uzumaki." The brown-haired man flinched slightly upon hearing the twin shouts of approval from the two Uzumaki present.

"Team 7 will include Sasuke Uchiha…" upon hearing the boy's name most of the girls in the class looked at their teacher with hope in their eyes. "…Sakura Haruno…" The pink-haired girl let out a loud shout of victory as she stood up and exclaimed something about 'True love conquering all.' "Your third teammate will meet you along with your Sensei. His name is Sai…he isn't a part of the current batch of graduates." It didn't seem like the two members of Team 7 were too bothered by this. "Your Sensei is Kakashi Hatake."

The man went on to list the rest of the teams. Team 8 consisted of Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inazuka and Shino Abrume being led by Kurenai Yuhi. Team 9 was already in rotation from last year and Team 10 was Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka with the Sensei being Asuma Sarutobi. The brown-haired chunin instructor finished assigning the teams and wished his students luck before leaving the classroom. Several of the new Jounin instructors arrived soon after and picked up their teams.

"Team 6?" questioned Kushina as she entered the class. Her attire had changed drastically from what she usually wore. The woman wore a blue forehead protector with her hair tied up in a high ponytail, a few strands framing the sides of her face. Her clothes consisted of a standard Konoha flak jacket over a black short-sleeved shirt and black form-fitting pants that reached her calves. She also had weapon holsters attached to her hips. Upon seeing her team she motioned for them to follow her as she left the room, her three charges following swiftly after her.

Fifteen minutes later found the four sitting casually at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand eating ramen. In fact, it was more devouring ramen in the case of the three Uzumaki present in the group who all had several empty bowls placed around them. Tatsuo watched his three teammates chow down as he slowly ate his food, deciding then that he'd never offer to pay for any of them. It was hard enough on his wallet when he occasionally decided to treat Naruto to ramen.

It wasn't until Kushina had finished her fifth bowl that she drank some water and decided to move on with what she wanted to do. "Well then, now that the four of us are here…" she began, prompting Tatsuo to wonder what she was talking about since they'd been here for the past ten minutes. "…I'd like us to get to know eachother. I'll start first. My name is Kushina Uzumaki. I like ramen, spending time with my friends and family and trying new things. I dislike those who are quick to judge people and those who'd hurt the people close to me. My hobbies are cooking and gardening. My dream…is to see my children grow up to be strong and happy."

Tatsuo smiled slightly as he continued to eat his ramen. Naruto didn't even try to conceal his smile and Kasumi hugged her mother with happiness. A few moments passed before Tatsuo sighed and decided to go next. "I guess I'm up next," he started as he stopped eating for the moment. "I'm Tatsuo Uchiha. I like sleeping and my friends. I dislike people who don't get to know someone before coming to any sort of conclusion about them. My hobbies are sleeping and reading. My dream is to…" the boy paused here to give it some thought before shrugging. "I guess it's to help my friends achieve their dreams." Kushina frowned slightly. It wasn't that she didn't like the boy's dream but most kids his age had some sort of goal they strive to achieve.

Naruto went next, his voice full of enthusiasm. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, my friends and family aswell as learning new techniques," the boy spoke in between mouthfuls of ramen. "I dislike the time it takes to cook ramen and stuck up jerks. My hobbies are pulling pranks and annoying Tatsuo. And my dream is to be the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen!" the boy exclaimed as he finished his ramen before ordering another bowl.

Kushina smiled at her son's behavior before a small frown overtook her features. Her mind turned back to the day before when she'd met with the Hokage. The man had given her several shocking pieces of information that she was sure she wouldn't have believed if it had been anyone else telling her. She remembered the meeting clear as glass.

 _ **...Flashback…**_

 _Kushina sat infront of the Hokage's desk along with her daughter. The leader of the village had called the two here to discuss several things, one of them being what had occurred the night Mizuki had stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals .The old village leader started off with that, opting to get that out of the way so he could explain something else to the two more easily._

" _After the incident a few days ago it's quite clear that Kasumi-chan here needs to be told about the sealing," the man stated. It had been one of the things Kushina had been dreading, but she'd known that her daughter would need to find out about it eventually. "Kasumi-chan, as you know fifteen years ago this village was attacked by the Nine-tailed Fox." Kasumi nodded, not liking where this conversation was already heading._

" _The Fox was defeated by the Fourth Hokage, your father," Kasumi nodded, making sure to pay complete attention to what she was being told. Seeing the girl was focused on him Hiruzen went on, "But Minato couldn't kill the beast. It was far too powerful for even him to do so." Kasumi tilted her head in confusion, not understanding that part since she'd always been told that her father had slain the beast. "So he did what he had to to ensure the safety of this village. He sealed it…"_

 _Kasumi let out a small gasp, not having expected that. Kushina bit her lower lip, knowing that what was to come next would be the hardest part for the young girl to believe. "He tore the beast into two separate parts and sealed it into two newborn babies. You and Naruto-kun…" Kasumi sat still, not being able to process what she'd just been told. Seeing the girl's current state, the Hokage decided to put her mind at ease. "This does not mean that either of you are the Ninetails."_

 _After having calmed the young genin down the man continued. "He separated the beast's chakra and its soul, the latter being sealed within your brother and the former within you." Kasumi had tears in her eyes at this point but continued to listen diligently to what the old man had to say. "Your mother suffered from certain problems after the attack and so had to leave. She left Naruto-kun behind in the village because being near him was dangerous to both her and Naruto-kun himself." Kushina let out a muffled sob at hearing that but didn't interrupt._

" _Rest assured, neither you or Naruto-kun are in any way the Kyubi no Kitsune," the leader of the village established, making sure that the girl before him understood that. "Knowing this however, I advise you not to tell anyone of this as it is an S-ranked secret. You are allowed to divulge this information as it involves you but please refrain from doing so as it may put the lives of both you and your brother in danger." Kasumi nodded, understanding how that was possible._

 _It was at that point that the Hokage asked Kasumi to wait outside so that he could talk to her mother in private for a few minutes. The younger girl had complied without argument, already having heard enough for one day. Once she had left the room, the Hokage retrieved a file from his desk. "Kushina, I'm telling you this because you've requested that Naruto-kun be placed on your team. He has given me permission to divulge this information to those who I see fit, but please understand that this matter is not to be discussed outside of the confines of this office, unless it is with Naruto-kun himself." The man's voice had been soft but commanding, telling her that this was not a request but an order._

" _Two years after you left, there was an incident involving Naruto…" the man began, his voice filled with guilt. Kushina leaned in closer, wanting to know what it was that had happened to her son. "The ANBU I'd assigned for Naruto's protection did not do as I ordered. A group of intoxicated civilians and shinobi found the young boy wandering the streets. They decided to take matters into their own hands to get revenge for those who had fallen during the attack of the Kyubi…" Kushina held her hands infront of her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. Hiruzen handed her the file he had in his hands before he continued. "They spent a good fifteen minutes with the boy before Asuma ran into them. Safe to say, none of them survived. The two ANBU were sent to T &I and then executed…" the old man informed her._

 _Kushina opened the file and began to read. Her eyes grew wide and her body shook as her eyes passed over what was written in the file. "That is Naruto's medical file regarding that incident…" the Hokage's face was grim, knowing how much pain the boy must have been put through. The blonde's mother couldn't believe it as she read over the details. Several broken bones, puncture wounds, shallow cuts, deep cuts, internal bleeding. Her head snapped up to face her leader, tears running freely down her face now._

" _H-ho-ho-" she struggled to speak as images of what may have happened to her son ran through her mind. Sobs racked her body as she sat there shivering in fear and sorrow. Hiruzen turned his chair around so that he was looking out the window. The man remained silent for a few moments before he began explaining._

" _Naruto-kun told me what happened when he awoke nearly a week after the incident…" he began as he told her what the boy had told him. "During the incident, the boy was dragged into the seal." He heard a sharp intake of breath, but paid it no mind and continued to speak. "He met the Ninetails and made a deal with the beast." Kushina couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her son had not only met the thing responsible for the death of her husband but had made an agreement with it._

" _The Kyubi had the barest minimum of chakra left that kept it from merely disappearing. Not nearly enough to heal the boy. But it offered Naruto-kun the chance to survive by using his chakra." Kushina was far beyond the point of disbelief now. She couldn't help but deny what Hiruzen was telling her and yet a part of her wanted to know what happened. "Both Naruto and Kasumi have extremely dense chakra due to you being the jinchuriki of the Ninetails when they were conceived. Naruto's however is far denser than his sister's chakra…"_

" _It was dense enough for the Nine-tails to use in order to help heal Naruto-kun. And your son took that chance. He allowed the beast to use his chakra to try and heal him," Hiruzen explained to the heartbroken woman as he remembered what the boy had told him. "In doing so however, Naruto-kun's soul has become linked, in a way, to the Ninetails' soul. They now share the same chakra, atleast in the way that the Kyubi uses the boy's chakra to heal him when needed. Naruto-kun's reserves have grown exponentially due to this and he's grown to trust the fox." The old man turned to look back at Kushina before taking back the file. "I only hope that he doesn't do something that will put both him and everyone around him in danger."_

… _ **.End Flashback…**_

Kushina snapped out of her thoughts as her daughter began her introduction. The girl smiled brightly at her team before speaking. "My name is Kasumi Uzumaki. I like ramen, learning new things and my friends and family. I dislike those who treat others unjustly," the girl stated, having the courtesy to stop eating when she spoke. "My hobbies include eating ramen and learning new water-based jutsu!" Tatsuo sighed; it seemed the girl shared the same love for ramen and jutsu as her brother. "My dream is to become a really strong kunoichi like my mom!"

Kushina smiled at her team before swiftly finishing her ramen. Once done, she got up to leave. "I have to leave for now though, so you three are dismissed," the woman stated before turning to be on her way. She stopped after only a single step however as a mischievous smirk came across her face. "Oh and one more thing," she began, turning to look at them with a sweet look plastered across her face. "Meet me at Training Ground 6 tomorrow by ten. You have to take a test to decide if you'll actually end up being genin or not…"

She disappeared a second after saying this, leaving droplets of water swirling around where she'd been. Naruto began choking on his ramen upon hearing his mother's words and Kasumi's eyes went wide. "She's kidding right?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking over to both his teammates to see how they were reacting. Kasumi seemed surprised while Tatsuo just sighed. "You don't think she's serious do you?"

Tatsuo shrugged his shoulders before placing his chopsticks down next to his empty bowl. "She probably is," he stated as he got up and stretched. "I doubted becoming genin would be as easy as they made it in the academy." The boy left the small stand, muttering a soft 'goodbye' as he left. Naruto sat there stunned as his sister tried to snap him out of his dazed state.

Later that day, Naruto found himself staring at the training field behind Tatsuo's house. Both he and his friend were sitting on the porch, enjoying the cool night breeze. "What do you think the test is going to be about?" questioned the Uzumaki as he looked over to his friend. The black-haired boy seemed lost in thought about something. "Hey! You alright?"

Tatsuo lazily turned to the blonde before nodding. He returned his attention back to the training field, memories of what he'd done here a few days ago fresh in his mind. "We're horrible people aren't we?" the Uchiha asked, not sparing his friend a glance. "We kill without thinking about the consequences…" He stayed silent for a minute, trying to clear his thoughts of the darkness that plagued them.

"You're right…" Naruto answered, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy knew how Tatsuo felt since he'd been through the same thing long ago. "We are horrible people. But it's necessary." Tatsuo turned to face the blonde, only to see him smiling at the sky. "I'd rather be a horrible person than let the people close to me be hurt. Sure I'd try to find a different way to deal with things, but if there is no other way…" His face grew grim as he spoke the next few words. "I'll do anything to protect those I care about."

Tatsuo stared at the boy for a few more seconds before smiling and getting to his feet. "You're right. Come on, we need to plan for the test tomorrow…" the boy stated as he turned to walk back into the house.

"Wait! You know what the test is about?!" Naruto exclaimed as he chased after his fellow genin. "What's it about?!"

Tatsuo made his way to the living room before taking a seat on the sofa, Naruto sitting down next to him. "I don't know exactly what the test is about. But it's highly probable that whatever it is will test our skills as ninja," his words caused the blonde Uzumaki to raise an eyebrow. Noticing this, Tatsuo proceeded to explain his statement. "We'll probably be tested on our fighting capabilities. If that is indeed the case, then we should come up with a battle plan beforehand."

"What about Kasumi?" Naruto wasn't sure how they could come up with any sort of strategy if they didn't have all three of them there. "Shouldn't she be part of the plan?"

Tatsuo sighed before placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I didn't say this was going to be our final plan," he clarified to his partner. "I just suggested that we come up with some sort of strategy that we can expand upon once the test actually starts." Naruto nodded his head before scratching the back of his head.

"So what do you have in mind?" he questioned, only to have Tatsuo give him a confident grin. Naruto couldn't help but think that tomorrow would be very interesting once he saw his friend's expression.

The sun shone brightly in the sky as Team 6 awaited their sensei's arrival at their assigned training ground. Naruto was currently doing stretches, preparing himself for the test. Kasumi too had stretched, but was now seated underneath the shade of a tree. Naruto had discussed most of the plan Tatsuo had told him last night. It wasn't too complex but they'd just have to see how things would turn out. Tatsuo was currently napping under the shade of another tree. The boy didn't seem at all nervous about the upcoming test, probably because he didn't care if he failed.

Training Ground 6 was a large open field with several thick wooden posts embedded into the ground. The clearing was surrounded by trees on all sides except the path that led back to the village. There were a few bare patches where the grass seemed smaller in comparison to the rest of the area but other than that nothing really stood out as extraordinary.

Kushina arrived at the grounds several minutes later, prompting Naruto to go ahead and kick Tatsuo to wake him up. The boy yawned loudly before glaring at his blonde comrade. The three stood together infront of their sensei a few seconds later, awaiting further orders. Kushina smiled at her students before deciding to explain what they'd be doing, to her students. "Okay then!" she began, her voice full of enthusiasm. "Today, I'll be testing you on your fighting abilities. Along with that, you'll be expected to show me what you can do as ninja. So that means things like stealth and planning."

Naruto smiled before playfully punching Tatsuo in the shoulder. The boy rolled his eyes before returning his attention to the red-haired jounin infront of them. "So, in order to test all this you will be fighting me!" she stated, pointing to herself with her thumb. "Come at me with your best! Otherwise you probably won't be passing."

Kasumi raised her hand earning a nod from her mother. "Um, sensei," she began, feeling awkward calling her mother sensei. "What happens if we fail?" It was an innocent question, but Kushina gave her team a predatory smirk.

"Then you'll be sent back to the academy!" was her reply. And it was enough to make Naruto lose his composure. The boy absolutely hated the academy because it was, in his opinion, far more boring than watching paint dry. The boy let out a loud cry of outrage which went ignored by everyone else present. "If you donot want to spend another year at the academy, then I suggest coming at me with everything you've got. Don't worry about hurting me. I'll be sure to keep my guard up."

There was a moment of silence as all three genin nodded to the woman before she told them to begin. Almost instantly both Naruto and Kasumi vanished, disappearing into the surrounding trees. Kushina smiled upon seeing how well both her children had managed to hide themselves, but she frowned as her eyes landed back on Tatsuo who was still standing in the middle of the clearing. "Not going to hide, Tatsuo-kun?" Kushina asked sweetly, tilting her head slightly as she placed her hands on her hips.

Tatsuo sighed before rotating his arms to loosen his shoulders. He stretched a bit before gazing over at his sensei. "Well, it'd be pointless anyways because you'd still be able to find us," he stated as he reached into the weapon pouch on his right thigh before pulling out a kunai. "We wouldn't be able to hide unless you were distracted." The boy took a deep breath in, his eyes closing as he prepared to fight. "That's my job." Opening his eyes he stared focused at the woman, his sharingan spinning slowly.

Kushina immediately looked down at the boy's feet, knowing that he could cast genjutsu with simple eye contact, weak one's atleast. "Is that so?" she taunted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you sure you can manage that?" She expected him to retort at her but the boy just rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll try…" he stated lazily before taking off towards her in a run. Kushina smiled, noting that the boy was extremely fast for a genin fresh out of the academy. She didn't know much about the boy since the Hokage stated that he didn't want to reveal Tatsuo's past to her. It was something that he'd rather have the boy do himself once he'd truly begun to trust her. Tatsuo leapt into the air in an attempt to kick his sensei, only to have his strike blocked by her arm. The woman didn't even flinch, showing that she was far stronger than she looked. But that was to be expected, seeing as she was a jounin.

Seeing this the boy pushed against her arm with his leg, flinging himself back while flipping through the air. He made a single-handed seal with his left hand before breathing in deeply. "A one-handed seal?" muttered Kushina, her eyes focused on the boy. She made sure to not look him in the eyes and also to keep her attention divided between him and her other two students who would no doubt take her distracted state as an opportunity to attack.

Tatsuo blew out a large ball of fire, the jutsu barreling towards Kushina. The boy had no delusions that his sensei couldn't counter his technique, but his job was to distract her. The ball of flames crashed into where Kushina was, burning the grass that the flames touched. Tatsuo watched his technique explode, feeling the heat even from the distance he stood at. The flames suddenly burst outwards and dissipated to reveal Kushina crouched on the ground with her palm pressed firmly against the now bare earth. An array of intricate symbols surrounded her, spreading from the point where her hand came into contact with the soil. They formed a large protective circle around her feet, a glass-like sphere forming around the woman.

" **Uzumaki Sealing Art: Repulsion!** " the woman announced as she rose to her feet, the barrier seemingly melting around her. Tatsuo took a moment to look at the seals around the woman's feet before narrowing his eyes. The boy rushed for her once more, this time forming a familiar cross-shaped handseal. A clone of the boy popped into existence next to him, both copies now running towards the red-haired woman.

Kushina smiled, before forming several handseals of her own. Her chest puffed out as she breathed in before spewing a stream of water from her mouth at the two Tatsuo copies. Her opponent saw her attack and leapt to each side, both forming the single handseal once more. They both sent forth large balls of fire which Kushina dodged by leaping up into the air. The two balls of fire met in an explosive collision that left the ground bare of any life.

The red-haired sensei of Team 6 landed several steps away from the sight of the explosion before forming a cross-shaped handseal. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** " she exclaimed, two clones popping into existence infront of her before rushing for the two copies of Tatsuo.

"Damn it!" the boy cursed as he leapt back along with his clone to gain some distance. Running through a few hand seals, the boy's clone bought his hand up to his mouth in the shape of a ring. The original had gone through several handseals of his own, his chest expanding as he took a deep breath in. "Try this!" both copies of the boys yelled before blowing outwards. The stream of flames from the clone's technique became a raging inferno as they came into contact with the original Tatsuo's wind-based jutsu.

The two Kushina look-alikes tried leaping out of the way, but couldn't escape the clutches of the raging fire. Tatsuo let out a tired sigh as his clone popped out of existence. He felt a bit more energized after receiving the unused chakra his clone had stored up. His eyes widened when golden chains suddenly burst forth from the ground at his feet, wrapping tightly around him. "What?!" he exclaimed, struggling futilely against his bounds.

"Well that was impressive," Kushina stated from where she was standing. Looking at her, Tatsuo could see the golden chains protruding out from her back and into the ground at her feet. She'd used the earth as cover to keep him from seeing the chains earlier. "My chakra chains are a method of sealing that very few from my clan can use. They also have the added benefit of neutralizing a person's chakra." The red-haired woman smiled confidently at her student, only to receive a lazy smile in return.

"Gotcha…" he stated before Kushina found herself launched through the air towards the boy by a harsh gale of wind. Her chains disappeared once she lost focus and this allowed Tatsuo to attack her freely. The black-haired boy smirked before forming the single-handed seal once more. Breathing out another ball of fire, he watched as it consumed his sensei. He shook his head in resignation once the flames and smoke died down enough for him to see the charred remains of a wooden log.

Kushina sighed as she observed her student from her perch on a thick tree branch. The boy was perceptive and cunning. He'd done as he had stated and ended up distracting her, taking advantage of her brash nature in doing so. The woman smiled upon reviewing the small skirmish. He was more than qualified to be a genin. He was talented in both ninjutsu and genjutsu, a dangerous combination in her opinion. The boy was also fast and had above average strength.

Hearing the rustling of leaves to her left, the woman sent a kunai sailing through the air in that direction. The weapon lodged itself in a tree, its target dodging the projectile by leaping out of the way. Kushina stared cautiously at her daughter who was crouched on the branch of a different tree. The younger girl stared back as she brought her hands up to form a cross-shaped handseal. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** " the girl announced as a dozen clones came into existence around her, crouching and standing in various positions.

Kushina smiled at the girl before four of the golden chains she had used earlier emerged from her back, floating protectively around her as she awaited her daughter's attack. Kasumi watched her mother's chains cautiously before smiling mischievously. With a single gesture of her hands, all of her clones launched themselves at the red-haired woman. The copies were swiftly dealt with, courtesy of Kushina's chains. The woman didn't even take her eyes off of her opponent, having learned what being distracted could lead to.

Kasumi sighed before smiling once more. The girl waved at her mother before leaping off her branch and into the surrounding foliage. Kushina tilted her head in confusion before one of her chains suddenly darted around to catch Naruto by his leg as the boy attempted to kick her. The chain swung the boy around, bringing him to hang upside down infront of her. Kushina giggled at seeing the boy's pouting face. "What's hanging?" she joked, only for the boy infront of her to disappear in a puff of smoke. The woman wasn't surprised and directed her chains to swing around and smack two more of the boy's clones, causing them to disperse aswell.

" **Water Style: Wild Water Wave!** " exclaimed Kasumi from below her mother. She sent a stream of water barreling towards the woman only to have it dodged. Kushina flipped through the air, her eyes focused on her daughter once more. Her chains darted forward to try and catch the girl, but the younger redhead leapt out of the way, creating several clones to confuse the woman. The jounin smirked before turning around to block a roundhouse kick from her son. The boy didn't give her any time to retaliate as two of his clones jumped over him to kick the woman. Kushina let her chains deal with the two clones and attempted to grab Naruto's outstretched leg, but the boy hopped back out of her reach.

Three copies of Kasumi rushed her from below and forced her to abandon her current branch in favor of fighting on the ground. She landed with a thud and hopped back to avoid the shuriken that followed her descent. The woman gazed up to see several copies of both Naruto and Kasumi staring down at her. She smirked before bringing her hands up to make a certain handseal. She was, however, forced to abandon her effort when she noticed the sound of kunai heading towards her. Flipping backwards over the incoming kunai she dodged the weapons and landed in a crouch. Turning her head slightly allowed her to see Tatsuo standing several paces away from her.

Her eyes narrowed when she realized that they'd planned this out before the test had already started. They were showing good teamwork which lead her to believe that, since they hadn't worked with eachother too much before this test, they'd come up with some sort of strategy. "You three seem pretty coordinated," Kushina stated, eyeing each of the copies and the black-haired genin behind her. "You planned things out before the test?"

She received no verbal response but Tatsuo lazily shrugged his shoulders. Kushina didn't ask any more questions as she hunched over. Several chains exploded out from her back, two aiming for the Uchiha and the rest darting to decimate the clones of her two children. The clones jumped off their perches, attempting to dodge the deadly metal extensions but the chains twisted around and began pursuing them. Tatsuo on the other hand didn't have such a problem. The boy rushed at the oncoming projectiles and passed through the middle, the chains curling and darting after the boy as he approached his sensei.

Kushina saw the boy approaching her out of the corner of her eye and smirked. Another chain jutted out from her back, aimed straight at him. Seeing his sensei's response to his approach Tatsuo leapt over the new length of metal links, going for a downward kick for the red-haired woman's skull. The jounin blocked his strike by crossing her arms over her head but Tatsuo didn't stop there. Using Kushina's arms as a platform, the genin flipped over the woman and formed his signature handseal with his right hand.

Kushina had to abandon her efforts of destroying the remaining clones of her two children to avoid the flames that her last student spewed forth from his mouth. The woman leapt back out of the way of the fireball only to have to roll out of the way of several shuriken. She brought her arm up once she was crouched on the ground in order to block a kick from her daughter. The girl spun around to try and nail her once more but Kushina caught the redhead's next kick in a strong grip. "Nice try, Kasumi-chan!" the woman complimented.

Kasumi smirked at her mother, prompting the woman to tilt her head slightly in confusion before she turned around and tossed the girl into her brother who tried to leap at her. The two genin collided in the air before dispersing in clouds of smoke. Kushina tilted her body to avoid a few kunai and looked in the direction they'd come from to see Naruto standing on a tree branch with Kasumi by his side.

"So, how are we doing sensei?!" asked Naruto, thoroughly enjoying the fight so far. He could clearly see the difference between him and a jounin on Kushina's level. There was no way for them to beat her on their own. That was why they'd have to work together to have even a remote chance of passing. Kushina took a moment to tap her chin as if she was actually thinking about what Naruto had said.

"You're doing very well. I'm extremely impressed," she replied once she'd gone over all that had happened once more. Taking a few seconds to review what she'd seen so far she smiled. "But you'll have to do better than that to pass this test."

A pop behind her caused her to widen her eyes. She turned around just in time to block the kick from a Naruto clone that had been henged as one of the kunai thrown earlier. She felt the dull throbbing in her arms from the boy's kick, noting that he was superior in strength to both Tatsuo and Kasumi. Pushing the clone back she made sure not to take her attention off of everyone else. Her attention switched back to her two children as Kasumi leapt at her with a kunai in hand. The girl tried an overhead swipe that her mother dodged by stepping to one side. The girl then spun around to try and slash her mother with a horizontal strike that Kushina stopped by gripping the girl's arm, halting her mid-spin.

Pulling Kasumi to her right the woman dodged a punch from the blonde clone behind her and proceeded to nail it in the back with a hard kick. The clone dispersed in a puff of smoke but was replaced by Tatsuo as he rushed for his sensei with a kunai in hand. The boy leapt over Kasumi and went for a diagonal slash, forcing Kushina to release Kasumi so that she could lean farther back and avoid the attack.

Tatsuo didn't stop there however. The moment the boy landed, he was on the offensive. He brought his weapon back around for a horizontal slash that Kushina stepped back to dodge. The boy lunged forward to strike with a brutal elbow strike that forced his sensei to stumble back slightly. Naruto chose that moment to dropkick his mother, forcing her to yelp in surprise and pain as she stumbled back. Kasumi ran by her other two teammates to engage the jounin. She started off with a straight punch that the elder redhead knocked to the side with a swift flick of her arm. Following the momentum of her arm, Kasumi spun around to try and hit her mother with the back of her fist. Kushina leaned back to avoid the blow and then lunged forwards to strike her daughter with a palm strike to her chest.

Kasumi coughed loudly as her mother struck her, only to be pulled back by Tatsuo as Naruto jumped at their sensei. The blonde sent a right hook at his target that Kushina lazily sidestepped. The genin swung his arm back around to strike her again, but the woman stepped back and avoided it. Not giving up Naruto spun around and kicked the woman, only to have his strike dodged once more. The boy leapt into the air the moment his foot touched the ground and proceeded to try and punch the jounin with a downward blow.

Upon dodging this attack however, Kushina found herself having to face two clones of the blonde that the genin created once he landed. The first clone struck high with a left hook and the second went low with a swift leg swipe. Seeing no way to dodge both attacks, Kushina leapt over the lower attack and caught the other clones punch while in the air. Twisting around she smashed the poor clone into the ground and proceeded disperse the other with a hard elbow to its face.

Bringing her arm up to block a kick from Tatsuo, the woman produced two chains from her chest that smashed into both Kasumi and Naruto as they tried to charge at her. Both genin crashed into the ground, letting out pained groans. Tatsuo grit his teeth before punching the woman. Kushina caught the boy's punch but was surprised when the attack seemed to pass through her. Her eyes widened as she felt something invisible tightening around her and switched out with a nearby log. She noticed the ninja-wire wrapping around the log a moment later once she'd broken the subtle genjutsu the Uchiha had placed on her. It seemed like she'd looked into his eyes at some point of their fight.

Muttering curses, Tatsuo and his clone cut the ninja-wire that they were using to try and catch their sensei with. She'd noticed the genjutsu a bit earlier than he'd wished. He looked over at his other two teammates to see them standing up once more; having recovered from the blows they'd taken a moment ago.

The black-haired ninja sighed tiredly. This was far more effort than he was okay with. He just wanted to go home and take a nap. He tensed himself, fixing his gaze on his target. Taking a deep breath, the boy rushed his sensei in a dead sprint. Noticing his approach, Kushina braced herself. Bringing her arms up to form a solid defense and widening the gap between her legs so she could be a bit more balanced. Upon reaching her Tatsuo engaged her with taijutsu. The boy threw several punches that the woman dodged without much trouble. Transitioning into a sweeping kick the boy forced his sensei to jump over his attack and then lunged at her with a swift uppercut before she had the chance to land.

Not having expected that attack, the red-haired jounin found the boy's fist colliding with her face. She landed on her feet a few steps away from the genin but had to dodge to the side to avoid the incoming ball of flames. " **Water Style: Collapsing Wave!** " the woman exclaimed, having performed the handseals whilst she dodged her student's attack. Tatsuo noticed the water in the river behind his sensei beginning to churn. The boy cursed out loud before performing several handseals. Kushina smirked as the water from the river behind her rose up to form a large wall, before it suddenly burst forth. The liquid swirled around her before crashing to the ground and forming a wave as it passed through the clearing.

Tatsuo bought his hand up to his mouth before unleashing a wide stream of fire. The flames crashed into the rushing water, steam rising into the air from the collision. Kushina didn't let up however, channeling more chakra into her technique. More water rushed around her before crashing into the young Uchiha's technique. The flames were snuffed out as the water overtook the boy. Tatsuo felt himself crash into a tree as the water carried him forcefully. The boy lay against the hard trunk of the tree coughing to clear his airway of any water that he may have inhaled. He smiled before looking up at his sensei.

Kushina was rather confused about the boy's odd smile. It wasn't until she looked around the clearing that she noticed that her other two students were missing. She was caught off guard as several tendrils of water erupted from the steady-flowing river behind her. The liquid appendages wrapped around her arms, legs and torso rendering her immobile for the time being. She felt herself lifted off the ground slightly and she heard the splashing of water. Before she could react she was kicked in the back by multiple people. Her restraints fell away as she found herself flung into the air, pain exploding in her back.

Tatsuo watched as five copies of his blonde teammate leapt out of the water once Kushina had been caught. Four of the copies kicked the woman into the air as Kasumi released her technique so that the tendrils of water holding Kushina wouldn't stop her from being tossed into the air. The last Naruto leapt after the red-haired woman, flipping so that he could gain more momentum. Once he was higher than the woman, the boy brought his heel down into her torso in the form of a vicious drop kick that sent her rocketing to the ground where she crashed with a loud thud, a cloud of dust rising up around her.

Kushina lay there for a moment, trying to make sense of what had happened. She looked to her right to see Naruto and his clones looking down at her with concerned eyes. Looking up she saw Kasumi pulling herself out of the river before running over to her. Things started to make sense as she figured out what had happened. The two had used the momentary clash between her and Tatsuo's jutsu to reach the river and hide themselves from her so that their approach wouldn't be noticed. She let out a small chuckle as the pain in her body began to subside.

Rising up into a sitting position, the woman groaned as she stretched. Kasumi knelt by her, worry clear in her expression. "It's okay Kasumi-chan," Kushina reassured the girl as she rubbed her back gently. "I'll be fine." Turning to the blonde Uzumaki she gave him a mock glare before smiling at the boy. "That was extremely well done Naruto-kun. You and Kasumi-chan did very well." The woman smiled at her two children before remembering about her final Student. Taking note that the boy hadn't moved from his position by the tree, the woman got up and ran over to the boy, Naruto and Kasumi following quickly behind her.

Upon reaching the boy she knelt down next to him to check if he was alright. She sweatdropped when the boy let out a low snore, indicating that he'd fallen asleep. Naruto groaned in exasperation and Kasumi giggled at her teammate's antics. Kushina shook her head in resignation before turning to her other two students. "Well, I guess we should end the test now that Tatsuo seems to have left for dreamland," the woman announced, causing her children to look at her expectantly. She chuckled before nodding to the two. "Yes, you pass!"

She laughed as the two genin let out cheers of excitement and joy upon hearing her words. She watched them as they did a little dance together in celebration. Her eyes softened at seeing their happy faces before she looked down at her third student. The boy looked peaceful in his sleep. But she knew that he was very talented. He may not have been the strongest one on the team, but he was definitely the most perceptive and deceptive. She smiled, turning back to her still dancing children. The only thing she could think at the moment was that this would definitely be a fun team to teach.

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 **Did I do good? On the fight scene and the flashback parts? I'm hoping I managed to explain a few things in regards to the story. The reason behind Kushina leaving Naruto at such a young age is still a mystery because...I don't wanna reveal it yet. Besides that I hope I did well in portraying the strength levels of Team 6, especially Kushina since I don't really have much reference to go off of in the way she fights. I'm obviously not going to make her like they did in Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolutions. I mean she's fun to play with but her style isn't really realistic. It's more for humor I guess. So, feel free to tell me what you think...especially about the fight scene because I feel like it might have been a bit repetitive.**

 **Anyways, as always thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my work. I really appreciate it! Seeya next week! Nya!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi again! I...don't really have much to say. Noone seems to have any questions so far and I'm glad about that. People seem to be enjoying the story so far atleast. Yay! Anyways, not much else to say so...on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I donot own Naruto or any other references made in this story that donot belong to me...yeah.**

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Chapter 4

Naruto sat crouched on a high tree branch as he looked down at his target. The boy's eyes narrowed as he saw his target look around the empty clearing. The headset he wore buzzed to life as his sensei's voice spoke into his ear. "Status?" she asked as the boy continued to stalk his prey.

"Target sighted. Permission to engage?" Naruto replied quietly so that he wouldn't alert his soon-to-be victim. The headset went silent for a moment before Kushina's voice spoke once more, giving her consent to the blonde Uzumaki. Naruto smirked before leaping off of his branch and towards his target. His hands came up to form his signature handseal before he was joined in his descent by three clones. His target however noticed his approach and leapt out of the way to avoid all four of the blondes.

Tatsuo gazed lazily at his teammate and his clones as he sat crouched a few feet away. Naruto smirked at his friend before he charged at the boy with his clones. Tatsuo sighed as he activated his sharingan and assumed his fighting stance. Two of the copies rushed ahead of the others, leaping up to attack him with downward blows. The black-haired genin ducked under their attacks and struck them both with hard palm strikes to their torsos.

The boy leaned back as soon as the two clones dispersed to dodge a spinning kick from another copy of his blonde teammate and then blocked a follow-up punch. He looked into his blonde attacker's eyes and put the boy under a subtle genjutsu. Grabbing onto his arm Tatsuo twisted around and threw his victim into the ground, prompting it to disappear in a cloud of white smoke, before turning around to engage the final Naruto.

The two boys met in a flurry of limbs as they attacked and countered blows. Tatsuo's eyes followed each of his friend's movements and Naruto made sure to avoid making eye-contact with his teammate. Tatsuo blocked a swift jab and twisted his opponent's arm but the blonde grabbed his arm before pulling him forward and slamming his knee into the Uchiha's gut.

Tatsuo let go of Naruto's arm and hopped back before taking deep breaths to replace the air he'd lost from the blonde's attack. Naruto rushed at Tatsuo once more, not wanting to give him time to recover, but he stopped short as he was assaulted by two clones the genin created. The first clone attacked with a kunai, swinging the weapon swiftly to keep his blonde opponent on his toes. The other copy leapt over his fellow clone and smashed a wicked downward kick into Naruto's shoulder.

The genin winced as he was forced onto his knees before grabbing onto the offending limb and swinging the copy of his teammate around to smash him into the second clone. His eyes darted back to where the original was but the boy had vanished. Naruto cursed before speaking into his headset once more. "Sorry sensei! I lost the target," he mumbled, annoyed that Tatsuo had managed to escape.

Kushina's voice once more spoke into his ear through his headset, "It's okay Naruto-kun. Meet me back at the main field." Naruto muttered his affirmation before he walked off into the forest once more. He couldn't help but smile at how the last month had gone by. After passing the test and officially becoming Team 6, things had gotten extremely interesting for the new genin. They'd met at Training Ground 6 almost every day since then, around six in the morning. They would train for a few hours before performing a D-ranked mission or two. After that they would have lunch and then return to their grounds for a few more hours of training. And then they'd be dismissed.

Around twice a week the team would take part in a particular exercise. They'd be split into groups of two and have different objectives they would have to complete. The two groups would be pitted against eachother and have to use various strategies to try and complete their goals. Today the two teams consisted of Naruto and his mother aswell as Tatsuo and Kasumi. The team of two genin had a simple objective, survive. Naruto and his sensei were supposed to capture the two genin while Kasumi and Tatsuo had to keep from being captured for a certain amount of time.

The blonde smiled as he emerged into the main training field to see Kushina standing guard over Kasumi who was currently tied up to one of the posts. They'd managed to separate her and Tatsuo at the initial start of the exercise and separated to go after them both. From the looks of things it seemed like Kushina had succeeded in capturing Kasumi.

"This isn't funny sensei!" Kasumi complained as she tried to wiggle out of her bindings. Not being able to do so she settled with pouting at her mother instead. "How was I supposed to escape from you?! You're a jounin!" the girl exclaimed as she started struggling once more.

Kushina giggled at her daughter's antics before patting her on the head. "I told you I was holding back Kasumi-chan," the older woman stated before she turned to look at her son as the boy approached him. "Seems like Tatsuo-chan managed to evade your brother. Perhaps he'll be able to save you, eh Kasumi-chan?" the woman joked, receiving a pout from the younger redhead.

Naruto reached his mother and smiled sheepishly at her while rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, sorry sensei. Tatsuo got away…" the boy stated as his mother sighed and shook her head. Kushina smiled at her oldest before turning back to Kasumi, who at the moment was glaring daggers at her.

"Well it's okay." Kushina stated as she stretched. "We still managed to catch Kasumi-chan so that's a plus." The woman straightened herself before scanning the clearing they were in. "Well then, if you don't mind watching over Kasumi-chan here, I'll go ahead and see if I can find your other teammate." Naruto nodded to the woman and she ran off into the surrounding forest in search of Tatsuo.

Naruto leaned against one of the wooden posts as his eyes panned over the empty clearing. He could hear Kasumi struggling with the ninja-wire that bound her but he was sure that she wouldn't be getting out of her predicament anytime soon. "Big Brother! Let me out of these things!" the girl whined, receiving a chuckle from her blonde sibling. She struggled a bit more before she gave up and simply hung her head.

A few minutes passed before Naruto's ears twitched as he picked up on the sound of someone landing on the ground. He turned around to see Tatsuo standing near the edge of the Training Ground with his hands in his pocket. The black-eyed youth began walking slowly towards his two teammates, his eyes cautiously scanning over his surroundings to make sure that his sensei wasn't around. He wouldn't have a lot of time to rescue Kasumi so he had to be quick about it.

Making sure that Kushina wasn't around the boy broke into a run as he rushed at his blonde friend. With a single handseal two clones popped into existence around him as the three copies of the Uchiha began their assault. Naruto didn't wait for them to reach him, after making several clones to guard his sister the boy rushed at his opponents with a few clones of his own.

Kasumi struggled to try and see what was happening, but unfortunately she was tied facing the opposite way of where the two boys were fighting. Tatsuo leapt over the first Naruto clone and destroyed the second one with a swift downward kick. One of his clones engaged the Naruto clone as the two smashed their fists into the other, effectively dispersing them both. The third Tatsuo clone darted around to try and make it to his tied up comrade but was blocked by two more Naruto replicas.

The original Tatsuo ducked under one of the Naruto copies' punches and destroyed it by burying his fist into the clone's gut. He rolled out of the way to avoid a few shuriken and retaliated with his own. Another one of Naruto's clones popped out of existence when they weren't quick enough to dodge the speeding projectiles. Glancing to his left the Uchiha saw his last clone go out in a puff of smoke as he was caught from behind by a clone of his blonde friend.

His eyes widened when he saw one of the Naruto clones running through handseals so he brought up his right hand and took a deep breath. His fireball grew twice as large once it came into contact with the winds of the Naruto clone's technique, successfully destroying a few of the blondes in its path.

Naruto smirked from his position near Kasumi when he saw what happened next. Tatsuo reacted too late as the ground underneath the boy burst forth and golden chains sprouted out latching onto his limbs. The boy let out a yelp as he was raised into the air and turned his head around to see his sensei standing several feet behind him with chains protruding from her back and disappearing into the ground beneath her.

"Seems like I made it back in time to catch you Tatsuo-kun," Kushina teased as she smiled at the trapped boy. Tatsuo merely sighed before nodding his head, prompting his restraints to disappear as he landed crouched on the ground. Kushina move towards her team, Naruto having untied Kasumi so that they could listen to their sensei without any disturbances. Kushina smiled at her three students before clapping her hands loudly.

"Well then, now that we're done with today's exercises I think it's time we got a mission!" she exclaimed cheerfully, but frowned once she saw her students visibly deflate at the mention of a mission. "What's wrong?" she questioned, tilting her head and placing her hands on her hips.

"I don't want to do another D-rank mission sensei!" Kasumi exclaimed, earning a vigorous nod from her brother and a shrug from Tatsuo. Kushina raised her eyebrows before looking over at Naruto.

"Yeah! D-rank missions are just stupid chores!" the blonde Uzumaki added as he crossed his arms and pouted at their sensei along with Kasumi. "And don't even get me started on that demonic cat!" Kushina tried to tell them that they were wrong, but she couldn't argue against the fact that she'd hated D-ranks as a genin aswell. The woman sighed before raising her hands up in defeat.

"Alright then," she began, gaining the attention of her students once more. "Let's see if we can get a C-rank mission then…" She smiled upon seeing two of her students leap up in joy and then shook her head in exasperation when Tatsuo let out a yawn. It seemed like nothing short of imminent danger would get the black-haired boy excited.

The four ninja found themselves within the confines of the mission hall. They stood at attention infront of the Hokage and his helpers. Kushina stepped forward before bowing to her village leader. Hiruzen smiled and gestured for her to rise. The red-haired woman straightened up before stating her request. "Team 6 requesting a C-rank mission, Hokage-sama." Her words caused the old man to raise an eyebrow. Iruka stood up from his seat, alarm bells going off in his head upon hearing Kushina's words. The man had volunteered to aid the Hokage with handing out missions today.

"With all due respect Kushina-san," the man interrupted, prompting all those present to look at him. "C-rank missions are far more difficult than D-ranks. I don't think it would be wise to take a team of newly graduated genin on such a mission." Kushina smiled upon hearing the man's words before looking back at her leader.

"I believe my team is prepared to undertake a C-rank mission, Hokage-sama…" Kushina stated confidently as she thought of the progress her team had made over the past month. "And if anything goes wrong, then I'll be there to keep them safe." Iruka sighed as he returned to his seat, knowing enough about the Uzumaki woman to give up his argument. The woman did have a valid point though, which put his mind to ease.

Hiruzen looked over the three genin of the team before sifting through a few of the scrolls on his desk. "Very well…" the man said as he pulled out a simple scroll from the pile on his desk. "I believe I have one that would suit you quite well. Please call in Tazuna-san." The man gestured over to one of the other chunin who stood at attention by the door. The man bowed before leaving the room to retrieve his target. "This will be a simple escort mission. You are to accompany Tazuna-san to the Land of Waves. You are then to stay there until he has completed the bridge he is working on."

Kushina and her team nodded at their leader's words before their attention was garnered by another person who entered the room alongside the chunin who had left earlier. The man had grey hair and a large beard, aswell as slightly tanned skin. He wore glasses and had black eyes. His attire consisted of a sleeveless shirt with an obi, baggy pants and sandals. He had a towel hung around his neck and also wore a pointed hat. In his hand was a bottle of sake. Upon seeing Team 6, the man's face showed a scowl. "This is what I get?!" the man exclaimed upon seeing his protection. "A bunch of brats and-" the man chose not to continue once he saw Kushina's demonic expression as she glared at him.

"I assure you, Tazuna-san…" Hiruzen placated the man. "These three are quite capable of protecting you from any obstructions you might encounter. This is a C-rank mission after all…" The Hokage sent a suspicious look towards the slightly drunk man before continuing. "And you also have Kushina-san here. She is a jounin and should be more than enough to keep you safe on your trip." Tazuna begrudgingly nodded before looking back at Team 6.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow!" the man exclaimed as he turned to the door. "I'll expect to see you all at the main gate at eight!" And with that the man stumbled out of the room. Team 6 watched him leave with mixed feelings. Kasumi felt angry at being called a brat and had to restrain herself from attacking the man right then and there. Naruto felt annoyed knowing that the man thought of them as kids and not capable ninja. Tatsuo didn't care one way or the other and Kushina was slightly miffed at the man's attitude towards her team.

"Kushina-san, I'd like to have a word with you…" the Hokage stated, gaining Kushina's attention. The woman nodded to the man before turning to her team. She dismissed them so that they could get home and pack the necessities they'd need on the trip. The three genin nodded before leaving to get something to eat and then pack for the journey.

An hour later found Tatsuo walking down one of the empty streets of the Uchiha district, his eyes tracing over the dust-covered walls and poorly maintained plant life. The genin looked down at the ground as he continued to walk. Sometimes he wondered if things would have been different had his clan not been massacred. Would things play out differently if Sasuke's brother hadn't done what he had? The young ninja raised his head to look up at the sky and stared at the clouds as they drifted by. He could relate to the Nara clan at that moment, it really was a peaceful sight. The boy shook himself out of his daydreaming and began walking back home. He knew Naruto well enough to see that the boy wasn't going to be done at Ichiraku's anytime soon.

Kasumi sat next to her brother, devouring another bowl of ramen mercilessly. She looked over to see her brother chatting happily with the ramen waitress that worked at the stand. She smiled and slowed down in her assault upon the delicious noodles to watch her elder sibling laugh with the older girl. She had often seen the blonde smile and laugh, but only when he was among friends did he ever genuinely open up and show his true self. The boy lived behind a mask sometimes in order to hide his feelings, but he'd let that metaphorical mask slip quite often when he was around her. It made her happy knowing that Naruto cared enough for her to let her see the real him.

Naruto laughed happily as he talked about their most recent client to Ayame. The ramen stand waitress had been one of the first few people who had shown him genuine kindness. That alone gave her a special place in his heart. She also knew how to make some of the most delicious ramen he'd ever eaten and that was a definite plus in his books. The boy looked over to see his sister happily finishing off her ramen. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips upon seeing her. At that moment, he made a promise to himself that he'd do everything in his power to keep the girl smiling for the rest of her life. None from the team knew what would await them on their latest mission. But for the moment, they were content with enjoying themselves.

The sun was partly covered by clouds the next day, providing a large amount of shade for Team 6 as they awaited the arrival of their team leader and client. Kushina had ordered them to meet her at the main gate where she would join them along with the client. The three genin spent their time in various ways. Tatsuo was leaning against the wall that bordered Konoha with his eyes closed as he enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. Naruto was stretching his arms and legs as he talked with Kasumi about what he thought the mission would be like. Kasumi herself was just as excited as her brother. It wasn't every day that they left the village on a mission like this. All three had a small scroll attached to their hips in which they had sealed their things.

The three looked over to see their sensei approaching them with their client in tow. The man seemed sober today in comparison to when they'd first met with him. Kushina arrived to meet her team before instructing them to assume formation around their client. Kasumi and Naruto were to move on either side of the older man with Tatsuo taking point and her bringing up the rear. She pulled her students aside for a moment to explain what the Hokage had told her yesterday. It seemed like Tazuna was hiding something and so they would have to be extremely cautious on this mission. Having explained the situation to the three genin, Kushina set out with her team taking their defensive positions around their client.

Several minutes passed as they walked through the lush forest surrounding Konoha, Naruto and Kasumi looking around in surprise and excitement. Kushina couldn't help but smile at her children when she saw their happiness. Her eyes moved to the black-haired Uchiha who seemed rather bored as he walked ahead of the group. She'd gotten to know a bit about him over the past month, learning that he was rather lazy when it came to most things. He was skilled for his age and had a fully matured sharingan which was quite impressive for someone his age. He was one of the two Uchiha who had survived after the massacre of the entire clan and remained loyal to the village, although the story behind that event wasn't known by many, her included.

The boy was a mystery to her. It seemed the only people who knew more about him were the Hokage and Naruto. Atleast, those were the only people she knew who were familiar with the boy. Her eyes moved over to her hyperactive son. She couldn't help herself from feeling slightly afraid of the boy. She hadn't gotten over her fear of the events of that night quite yet. But at the same time, she felt a stabbing pain in her heart at what she'd done to the boy by leaving him alone for so long. His past was known to her now and she regretted everything she'd done and what her actions had led to.

Her eyes moved over to her final student, her daughter. The girl had learned about the seal she bore and what it contained. Yet she had remained quite cheerful over the month. Being reunited with Naruto had been the greatest thing to happen to her since Kushina had taken her with herself when she'd left. They'd become inseparable over their time on the same team. Overall, her team was very well-equipped to take on a C-rank mission. She wasn't sure how dangerous this one would turn out to be however.

The team continued their journey through the forest, glancing around at their changing surroundings and taking it all in. Kushina's attention was quickly diverted to a puddle in their path. She noticed the well-placed genjutsu and knew that there was something amiss. It also helped to know that it hadn't really rained for a while so the puddle made very little sense. She looked over her team and noted that her three students hadn't seemed to notice the anomaly. She decided to continue walking and ignore the puddle, if only to see how her team would react at what would happen.

The group of five passed by the puddle without incident. It wasn't until they were a few steps away from the body of water that something happened. The liquid surface seemed to shimmer slightly before two men arose from it. They were dressed in camouflaged shirts and pants with brown vests over them. The both also wore cloaks and slashed headbands which indicated that they were former shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Mist. They had long brown hair and wore face masks to cover their mouths. The two also wore clawed metal gauntlets on opposite arms that were connected by a chain which had spikes protruding out from each of the links.

The two men nodded to eachother before darting towards the unsuspecting team. Kushina heard the two coming, although they made very little sound as they moved. She felt them dart around her and wrap the chain around her several times. She watched as her students and the client turned around and stared on in horror as the two men pulled the chain taut. "One down…" one of them said as they pulled tightly on the chain, Kushina seemingly being shredded to pieces in the process.

"Four to go…" finished the other as the two stared calmly at the four remaining people. Tatsuo grit his teeth, knowing that these two were more skilled than Eiji. The boy was glad to see that his sensei wasn't dead, but had discreetly replaced herself with a log. Looking to his right revealed that Kasumi hadn't noticed that little detail yet. She was frozen in shock as she stared off into the distance. He turned to Naruto, only to catch a glimpse of an orange blur fly past him. His sharingan eyes followed and he watched horrified as Naruto leapt at the two men who had attacked them.

The boy's features had changed, probably due to the influence of the Kyubi. The boy's nails had lengthened and the whisker marks on his face had become jagged and far more visible. Tatsuo couldn't see but he had little doubt that the boy's fangs had also lengthened and his pupils were slit. The blonde genin seemingly appeared before one of the brothers with his arm pulled back. The man reacted immediately, raising his gauntlet-covered hand up to block the punch.

Naruto's fist smashed into the metal glove and pushed the man back. His opponent's eyes widening as he was forced to back up, but he didn't have to worry long as Naruto found himself flung across the open path by a hard punch from the second ninja. The boy twisted in the air and landed on all fours, his eyes glaring murderously at the two men who, in his eyes, had killed his mother. Tatsuo tried to yell out to the boy but the blonde was too far gone to listen to reason. "You're dead!" Naruto roared as he bounded towards his two opponents once more.

The two elder ninja acknowledged the boy's statement by rushing towards him with their chain rigid in between them. Naruto's eyes narrowed before he hopped over the metal length, flipping in the air so he would land while facing his opponents. The two men didn't stop however, choosing to ignore the blonde for the moment and rush towards their target. Kasumi snapped out of her daze when she saw the two men running towards her and prepared herself for battle, tears forming in her eyes.

Tatsuo noticed the girl's expression and decided that it would be better if she didn't fight in her current state. The boy brought his hands up to form a single handseal before his chest puffed out when he took a deep breath. He noticed Naruto running through a few handseals behind the approaching duo and smirked. The two enemy shinobi came to an abrupt halt when the black-haired genin blew out a large ball of flames their way. The two didn't get the chance to move before they were knocked forward by a sudden gust of wind.

They were engulfed in a fiery inferno as the winds fanned the flames when they met. Tatsuo didn't let down his guard when he saw the two missing ninja disappear into the flames. He couldn't afford to take the situation lightly, especially since Kasumi and Naruto weren't thinking clearly. He wondered where their sensei was or why she wasn't helping them out, but put it aside so that he could focus on the problem at hand.

His eyes widened upon seeing the two shinobi leap out of the flames and rocket towards him and Kasumi. They'd shed their cloaks since the garments were probably burnt to a crisp. He cursed as he leapt back when one of them swung their clawed hand. Pulling out a kunai he watched as the two were suddenly assaulted by a horde of Naruto clones. The two missing ninja were definitely surprised, but they didn't look like they'd be taken down that easy.

One of the two enemy shinobi ran through a series of one-handed handseals before spewing forth a torrent of water that smashed several of the blonde copies out of existence. His comrade smashed his fist into another clone before parrying several kicks and punches. The two ninja were caught off guard as their chain was suddenly pulled tight. They looked back to find Tatsuo crouched on top of the metal length connecting their gauntlets with a kunai stabbed through one of the circular links and embedded into the ground below.

The young genin leapt back out of reach while going through a series of handseals. The remaining Naruto clones hopped back, all performing handseals aswell. Not having enough time to pull the thing free, the two men detached the chain from their gauntlets with a loud click before escaping the inferno that enveloped the area they'd just been in.

The missing ninjas met a little distance away from the genin and their employer, gazing cautiously at the clones that stood protectively around the actual team. The two crouched in preparation to continue their assault but immediately found their heads colliding forcefully against the ground beneath them as Kushina smashed their skulls into the earth from above. The two men lay motionless after that, Kushina taking the time to place her hands on the backs of their necks, after performing a string of handseals. " **Uzumaki Sealing Art: Constraint…** " the woman muttered as a slight glow emanated from beneath her palms before she removed her hands to reveal small but complex sealing arrays on the skin of the two unconscious shinobi.

The woman straightened herself up and looked over at her team with a bright smile. She noticed the looks of disbelief plastered on the faces of her children and the rather annoyed expression on her third student's face. She walked over to them before her expression became much more serious as she faced their employer. "Tazuna-san…" she began, a menacing aura forming around her. "…I believe you have some explaining to do." Tazuna couldn't help but begin sweating at the fearsome woman.

Several hours later found the team walking through a thick mist as they continued on their way to the Land of Waves. Kushina was careful to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, especially the small lake that bordered the path they walked on. Her students had convinced her to continue with the mission, although it was quite clear that it wasn't a C-rank. They'd argued about it for a good ten minutes before she'd relented and decided to keep going. Kasumi had cried whilst hugging her once she had managed to get the truth out of Tazuna. Naruto had also shed a few tears, but the boy had made it a point to not talk to her because of her deception. Tatsuo had questioned her choice of not getting involved in their fight earlier but had accepted her reasons of testing their capabilities in an actual life-or-death situation.

The team remained alert now that they knew that they could be attacked at any moment. The excitement they'd been feeling earlier had died away leaving them feeling quite anxious. Tatsuo's eyes darted around the wide path they walked along. He hadn't seen the genjutsu back in the forest and that could have ended extremely badly for them. Naruto kept his eyes peeled as he listened for anything out of the ordinary. He wouldn't let anyone hurt the people he was close to again. Kasumi looked at her fellow genin and noticed how serious they were. She looked down upon remembering how the two of them had fought against the two chunin that had attacked them earlier while she hadn't done anything to help. She narrowed her eyes before looking back up with determination clear in her eyes.

The three snapped their heads towards their sensei when the woman launched a swift kunai into the bushes that lined the path. Nothing happened for a few seconds until Tatsuo walked forward along with the red-haired jounin to see what had happened. A rabbit with snow-white fur hopped out, its beady eyes panicked and fearful. Kushina's eyes narrowed and Tatsuo tilted his head in confusion. The rest of the group approached them, with Naruto and Kasumi looking at the white-furred animal with surprise.

Several chains jutted out of Kushina's back and smashed into the spinning blade that was thrown at the group, sending the large weapon flipping through the air until it was caught by its owner. Kushina's eyes narrowed once she looked the man over and she unconsciously stepped infront of her team and client. The man infront of them was in a whole other league than the 'Demon Brothers' who they'd faced before.

"An Uzumaki…" the man mumbled as he casually leaned on his sword which he'd stabbed into the ground. "I thought all of you'd been wiped out. Seems I was misinformed…" The man was tall and muscular, having pale skin and short spiky black hair. The lower half of his face was covered with bandages and he wore his slashed Kiri ninja headband sideways on his head. He wore a sleeveless black shirt and black pants aswell as blue wrist and leg-warmers. A belt was strapped diagonally across his torso, to which he most likely attached his large-bladed sword. He had extremely small eyebrows and piercing brown eyes.

"Zabuza Momochi. Missing ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist…" Kushina stated, taking a defensive stance infront of her students. She knew continuing with this mission was a bad idea, but she hadn't expected this Gato person to hire someone like Zabuza. This mission had just gotten considerably harder. "Why are you here?"

Zabuza tilted his head lazily before letting out a low chuckle. "You know of me. I'm flattered…" his words caused Kushina to roll her eyes but she made sure not to lose focus. The man lifted his sword up and leaned it on his shoulder. "Why am I here?" he repeated the woman's words as his eyes moved from one person to the next until they finally landed on the bridge builder Team 6 was meant to guard. "I'm here to kill him…" Kushina tensed, bringing a kunai up in case the man decided to attack. "You could hand him over…otherwise I'll have to get persuasive." He punctuated his words by flooding the area with killing intent, putting everyone present on edge.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Kushina replied as she eyed her opponent cautiously. The man let out a sigh before chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"The fact that you think you'll be able to fight me properly while protecting those brats…" the man's voice grew into a disembodied echo as the mist surrounding the area intensified and hid the man from view. "So these are the future ninja of Konoha? What a joke…" Tatsuo swiped his eyes around the mist, his sharingan spinning rapidly as he tried to pinpoint the man's location to no avail. Naruto grit his teeth as he looked around wildly in an attempt to find the man aswell. Kasumi gulped and tensed herself as she tried to ignore the massive amount of killing intent that engulfed the forest. She wouldn't be useless like last time.

"Don't worry." The three genin looked over to their red-haired mentor only to see her giving them a comforting smile. "I won't allow anything to happen to any of you." Her words were immediately followed by a loud laugh as Zabuza appeared behind the team of genin and Tazuna.

"Is that so?!" the man exclaimed as he prepared to swing his massive cleaver. An instant later he found himself impaled by several golden chains. Kushina glared at the man from where she stood, the chains emerging from her back having punched right through the man's torso. The man, however, merely let out a chuckle before he fell into a puddle of water. The elder redhead's eyes widened when she saw this and she turned around to block a heavy blow from the other jounin's oversized sword with her kunai. She was pushed back slightly but held her ground against the man.

Several chains emerged from Kushina's torso and lunged at the man, only for him to melt into water once more. Kushina scanned her surrounding quickly before she turned around and darted behind her team to block another strike from her opponent that was intended for the client. She pushed the large blade aside before lunging at Zabuza intent on skewering the man. The other man stumbled back, slightly surpised by the female Uzumaki's speed but caught the woman's arm before she could stab him.

Kushina sent forth two chains that Zabuza dodged, but didn't expect to turn around and wrap around his torso. Tightening around his chest the metal lengths flung him across the ground and into the nearby lake. Kushina stood tense, knowing that something like that wouldn't take down a ninja of Zabuza's caliber. Behind her, the genin of Team 6 watched in stunned silence at the level of fighting that the two jounin were displaying. It was at this moment that the team understood how much their sensei truly held back during their exercises.

A large body of water arose from the lake where Kushina had tossed Zabuza. The water swirled and twisted into the form of a large serpentine dragon. The beast rose high up before rocketing towards Team 6. Kushina's eyes narrowed before she ran through a quick set of handseals and slammed both her hands into the ground, sealing symbols spreading out from under the palms of her hand. They formed a circular spider web around her and her charges before letting off a gentle glow as a transparent sphere formed to protect the five of them.

Water splashed everywhere as the dragon crashed into the barrier, not having the power to penetrate the sphere. Kushina rose up as the sphere melted away around her. Her eyes zeroed in on her opponent. The man stood confidently upon the surface of the lake, his sword leaned casually on his shoulder. "Is that the best you got?!" the man taunted, prompting Kushina to frown. The woman formed a few more handseals before she was forced to duck as another copy of Zabuza swung at her his presence disguised by the thick mist. She rolled out of the clone's reach and launched her chains at the liquid copy. The man leapt over her chains and descended towards her, intent on cleaving her in two. Kushina rolled to her right, avoiding the man's strike and smirked when she saw the water clone fall into her trap. The Zabuza lookalike landed on the ground where his target had been a second before and his eyes widened as the ground underneath him began to light up with seals. The copy was disintegrated into vapor by the large explosion from under his feet.

Kushina avoided another downward blow from Zabuza's sword by twisting to the right. She didn't, however, expect the man to grab her by her hair and toss her towards the lake. The woman flipped in midair and landed atop the liquid surface, skidding back as she came to a halt. She looked up to see the clone running towards her team and cursed. The redhead rushed forward but suddenly found herself leaping back to avoid several pikes of water that rose up in an attempt to impale her. The woman landed on the water-top and then flipped backwards to avoid a wide swing from the real Zabuza. The man didn't give up however and continued in his spin so that he was facing the Leaf jounin when she landed. He dashed towards her, prompting the woman to grit her teeth and fish out a kunai from her weapon pouch to fight back.

Tatsuo watched the copy of Zabuza fling his sensei out into the nearby body of water. He cursed when the copy rushed at them and prepared for battle. Taking a quick glance towards his teammates he was glad to note that they were both ready to retaliate. The Uzumaki siblings took the lead, bombarding the approaching clone with clones of their own. It did nothing but buy them a bit of time, but that was more than enough.

"Is that the best you wannabe ninja can do?!" the clone roared as he sliced through the last few copies. The man looked back to his targets only to stumble backwards to avoid the bladed edge of a kunai. Tatsuo fell down into a crouch infront of the man as Kasumi leapt over him, using his back as a platform to catapult herself higher. The water clone looked up towards the girl, only to see her spew forth a stream of water. The clone evaded to his left to avoid the rush of liquid, only to find himself having to hack through several copies of the blonde boy.

Naruto rushed at the distracted man along with his teammates, hoping that his clones would be able to keep the man distracted for long enough. The missing ninja saw them coming however and smirked, performing a few one handed seals the water around him hurled towards the approaching genin in the form of needles. The three young ninja stopped in their tracks as they did their best to ward off the incoming projectiles, receiving several shallow cuts for their efforts.

Kasumi opened her eyes, only for them to widen in shock as she saw their opponent swing his massive blade down towards her. She was pulled to her side as Tatsuo rushed into her, pulling her out of the arc of the blade along with himself. Zabuza's clone attempted to grab the black-haired boy but was pushed back as Naruto smashed into him. The man let out a low growl before he sent the boy tumbling back with a hard kick. He couldn't react in time to prevent from being caught by two copies of Tatsuo as they latched onto is arms. "What?!"

He didn't have time to react as a kunai was plunged into his chest, courtesy of Kasumi. The girl breathed a deep sigh of relief as the man melted into a puddle at her feet. She smiled brightly and turned to face her teammates, only to see them staring grimly at the lake. She looked over and worry overtook her face once more. She barely registered Tatsuo's words when he spoke up to her.

Meanwhile, Kushina found herself locked in a fierce battle with her opponent. She'd been doing well in keeping up with the missing ninja so far, but he was far stronger than her physically. It didn't help that she was worried about her students' well-being at the moment. The woman leapt over a horizontal slash and smashed her feet into the man's raised arm. She flipped backwards while going through several handseals and landed in a crouch, her hands submerged under the water below her feet. The open cut on her thigh flared with pain but she ignored it to focus on the fight.

" **Water Style: Rising Wave Tsunami!** " she announced as the entire lake seemed to still before a ring of water spread out from where she was crouched. The ring of water grew larger exponentially as it engulfed everything in its path. Zabuza's eyes widened at the sight before he was overcome by the monstrous technique. The titanic wave smashed into the shore and over it, crashing into the surrounding trees and submerging the ground.

The surface of the lake calmed down a few moments later to reveal Kushina still crouched in her original position. She was breathing heavily and she was soaked from head to toe. She eyed her surroundings, taking note of Zabuza's absence. The woman let out a deep sigh before she was suddenly flung into the air as a pillar of water rose up from underneath her and buried itself into her gut, forcing the air out of her. The pillar eventually fell apart, letting Kushina fall to the liquid surface once more. The red-haired jounin didn't land on the body of water however. She, instead, found herself held just above the liquid as Zabuza gripped her throat tightly. The man was drenched, having taken refuge from the Konoha jounin's technique underwater.

"Gotcha…" the man muttered as he tightened his grip on the woman's throat. He let out a low chuckle upon seeing the redhead grab his arm weakly, obviously having spent quite a large amount of her chakra on her most recent technique. "It seems even an Uzumaki has their limits." Zabuza smirked as he squeezed harder, earning a muffled yelp from the woman as she tried to force his arm off. The man didn't notice the water at their feet begin to swirl slowly. He let out a hearty laugh at seeing the woman helpless before him. "Too bad. It's all over now..." the man stated as he hefted his zanbato up, pulling it back so that he could end this fight.

" **Water Style: Great Whirlpool!** " Kasumi roared, gaining the missing ninja's attention. His eyes darted over to the shore to see the three genin there, the redhead with her hands submerged up to her wrists in the water. The water around the man's feet suddenly picked up speed, spinning faster as the swirling motion spread out towards the edges of the lake. Zabuza lost his balance as the water crashed into his legs, disrupting his chakra flow and causing him to lose focus on his captive. The man found himself hard-pressed in trying to keep himself above water when he was standing in the center of a spinning vortex of water. Kushina took that moment to drive her foot into the man's torso. She managed to escape his grip before landing on the water for a second and jumping back to get out of the missing ninja's reach.

She landed shakily on her feet before crouching down and placing her hands gently atop the surface of the swirling water. Several lines comprised of sealing symbols lit up on her arms, glowing brightly as she channeled chakra through them. " **Uzumaki Sealing Art: Overloading Current!** " Kushina roared, the water around her suddenly lighting up before lightening exploded out from the woman's arms. Kushina grit her teeth as she felt the current pass through her, she was glad that the seals on her arms nullified most of the backlash from the technique. The electricity surged through the surrounding water until it reached Zabuza. The man was too late in avoiding the technique, receiving the brunt of the attack.

He felt the lightening chakra surge through him and he felt his body scream in protest. He leapt off of the water surface a few seconds later and crashed into the ground upon reaching the shore. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to stop the pain, but there was little he could do about it at the moment. He tried getting up several times, but his body wasn't working properly after the recent damage he'd taken. All of a sudden, he felt a pair of needles pierce his neck before his world went dark and he crashed face-first into the ground.

Kushina's eyes gazed cautiously at the boy infront of her. She'd been cautious whilst approaching Zabuza but this boy had seemingly finished the man off. Or atleast, that was what it looked like. The boy had long black hair tied back by a white bun holder, with two bangs framing his face. He had pale skin from what she could make out and he wore a green pinstriped outfit. Over this he wore a blue haori tied with a brown sash around his waist. His most unique feature however was the mask that hid his face. It was white with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth, as well as the symbol of Kirigakure etched at the top.

"Good day…" the boy stated in a calm voice as he looked over Zabuza's motionless body. "I must thank you for your assistance in apprehending this man." He turned to face Kushina before offering the woman a small bow. "I've been tracking him for quite some time now…"

Kushina didn't let down her guard, but she decided to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. "No thanks needed, Hunter-san…" Kushina stated, moving closer to the two. "However, you wouldn't mind if I merely checked over him to see if he is truly deceased, would you?" The boy hesitated for but a moment before stepping aside to let the woman do as she pleased. Kushina moved forward and checked her former opponent over for any signs of life. Finding none she straightened up before stepping back. "It seems he is dead. My apologies for doubting you, it's just been a rather long day you see."

The hunter-nin nodded to the woman as he moved to pick up Zabuza's sword before swiftly sealing it away in a scroll. "Of course, I apologize for not having arrived sooner…" his words earned him a smile and a nonchalant wave from the red-haired woman as she walked back to her team. The boy put the dead man's body over his shoulder before taking one last look at Team 6 and the bridge builder. "I thank you once more." And with that, he disappeared into the surrounding forest.

Once she was quite sure the boy was gone, Kushina sighed before walking over to her team. She was tired and in pain. She looked up to see her two children and Tatsuo running over to her with Tazuna following after them. Kasumi had her arm around Tatsuo's neck as the boy helped her walk over to the elder redhead. The girl seemed exhausted, which was quite understandable seeing as how she'd performed such a draining technique on such a large scale. Tatsuo himself didn't seem too tired, although he was just as wounded as his two teammates due to their fight with Zabuza's clone. Naruto looked to be the most energetic of the three as he rushed over to her and began fussing over her injuries. Kushina couldn't help but think that their roles should have been reversed.

She let out a deep breath before she collapsed. The last words she heard were the startled cries of her students before she slipped off into blissful unconsciousness. She'd fuss over her team and their horrendous decision to continue this mission once she woke up. For now, she needed some rest. The yelling and scolding could wait.

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 **I don't know why but I'm kinda disappointed by the fight scenes. I feel like they aren't as good as they could be, but I'm trying to go for the realistic approach. So I want people to make the logical choices in fights, not just use the biggest and most epic jutsu...which is still awesome but I want this story to be more realistic. What about you guys? Are you satisfied with the fight scenes? Tell me if you think there's something I could improve on. Anyways, as always thanks for taking the time out of your day to read another one of my chapters. I love you all for it! Seeya later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yeah...not my best chapter. Definitely not my best. I've just been a bit off this week so sorry about the lower quality on this one. It's shorter than all the other one's I've put up for sure and there isn't really much action in this one. It's more of a cooldown after the whole Zabuza encounter. But we'll be getting into that again next chapter. Anyways, I finally got some questions to answer for you all. Hurray!**

 **So the reviewers were guests so I can't say who they actually were but if you read this then thanks for your reviews. I really appreciate the fact that you'd give me some positive criticism. That being said, let's get into answering some of these questions!**

 **First of all, I didn't make a mistake when I wrote the ages of Naruto and his friends as fifteen. The reason behind that is simple. I just can't see them being twelve or thirteen and doing what ninja do. It just doesn't sit right with me. Fifteen is a bit more acceptable for me because I think they'd be a bit more mature and less impulsive at that age.**

 **Secondly, a lot of things regarding Tatsuo and his backstory I'm going to reveal later on. I wanna keep it a mystery for right now. Feel free to try and guess but I will reveal his past later on. I might drop hints here and there if I feel like they won't be too obvious so look out for those.**

 **The reason behind Kushina's departure and by extension her choice to leave Naruto behind will be explained to a certain extent in this chapter. Trust me when I say that there is more going on than what is given out in this chapter, so don't judge me too harshly. I feel like my reasons are pretty justified at this point.**

 **In regards to the strength-level of the jounin and how I made their fights with Naruto and his friends? The way I see it, Kushina is a bit out of shape. She hasn't been in an actual life or death fight for around fourteen years atleast! She's strong for sure, but she isn't on her A-game. Zabuza's water clone only had one-tenth his actual battle prowess so the fight with Team 6 was pretty justified. Plus, the ANBU that Tatsuo took on weren't even giving it their all. I will try and make the difference in strength a bit more obvious though from now on.**

 **Naruto's relationships with Jiraiya and his fellow graduates...well the Jiraiya bit I'll be covering more in the Chunin Exam arc. His interaction with the other genin was touched on briefly before but I'll probably go into it again a bit later. Maybe through the Chunin Exams and a mission or two. Kinda like in the actual series.**

 **Well...I think that about sums up all of the questions. On with the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I donot own Naruto...I'm beginning to see why people hate disclaimers. They're depressing...**

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Chapter 5

Kushina awoke with a start, darting up and immediately regretting it as her body cried out in protest. She took a moment to get used to the pain until it became a dull throb. Taking this time to look around and take in her surroundings the woman found herself laying on a comfortable futon in a small room. The room was plain without too many decorations. A single window on the far wall was open letting in a slight breeze. The woman looked herself over and noticed that she was bandaged quite extensively. She let out a sigh before looking up when the door to her room slid open.

Her violet eyes gazed at her son with relief once she realized that the boy was safe and sound. Naruto noticed his mother awake and stood still for a few seconds, his mind processing what he was seeing. He then proceeded to let out a loud shout of 'Mom' before running over to the woman and kneeling down next to her. "Mom! Are you alright?!" the boy questioned as he looked at her with concern evident in his eyes. His red-haired sensei smiled and gave him a nod. She took a few moments to stretch before slowly rising to her feet. The woman stumbled slightly, but Naruto was there to help support her.

The boy helped his mother walk out of the room and into the hallway where the two encountered the other two members of their team looking at them with surprise and relief. Tatsuo breathed out a sigh upon seeing his sensei awake once more. The woman had been unconscious for the better part of a day and it was reassuring to know that she was up and about once more. Chakra exhaustion wasn't really too common in Uzumaki, afterall. Kasumi grew teary-eyed the moment she saw her mother leaning on her elder brother. She ran over to the woman before wrapping her in a tight hug, eliciting a low groan of pain from the jounin.

Kushina patted her daughter on the head before looking up to see Tatsuo smiling at her. The boy gave her a small grin before turning around and heading down the hall. He was followed in a moment by the rest of his team before they all descended a small flight of stairs and entered what Kushina assumed was the living room. Tazuna was seated against one of the walls of the room and looked up in surprise upon seeing Kushina enter the room. A young boy gazed up at the woman from another corner of the room. He had spiky black hair and dark eyes. His attire consisted of a green jumpsuit and a yellow shirt along with a white striped hat. He gazed at Team 6 for a moment before muttering something under his breath and walking out of the room.

Tatsuo took a seat near the team's client before leaning back and closing his eyes. He was tired after all. He may not have shown it but he was worried about the red-haired Uzumaki woman. Kushina took a seat infront of the small table that sat in the middle of the room with her children sitting on either side of her. Her eyes darted over to the entrance to the kitchen when a young woman stepped out. She had long blue hair and fair skin. The woman wore a pink shirt and blue skirt. She looked over to the elder redhead and smiled warmly. "It's good to see you awake," the woman stated as she walked over to the red-haired jounin. "These three have been worried sick about you this entire time."

Kushina smiled at the woman's words before gazing at her students. He expression suddenly grew serious as her mind went over the events that had occurred during her excursion with 'The Demon of the Hidden Mist.' "I don't want to alarm any of you," the woman began, gaining the attention of everyone present in the room. "But Zabuza isn't dead." Her words resulted in cries of shock from her team and Tazuna.

"But we saw that hunter-nin kill him!" Naruto argued, trying his best to understand the situation. Kasumi nodded at her brother's statement before looking over to see her third teammate staring attentively at their sensei.

"I'm afraid that wasn't a hunter-nin at all," the elder Uzumaki's words held no doubt. "I noticed it during my short conversation with him. But I wasn't in any condition to fight someone with enough skill to use senbon like he did at that point, so I compromised." Tatsuo groaned before letting his head rest gently against the wall behind him. Kasumi stared wide-eyed at her mother, not wanting to believe what the woman's words meant. Naruto grit his teeth before staring down at his clenched fists. "We'll be seeing Zabuza again. But it'll take time for him to recover from his injuries."

The woman rose to her feet and stretched, prompting her two children to stand up in case she lost her balance once more. "You three better rest up today." Tatsuo eyed the woman with curiosity at her statement. "Because if I have to fight Zabuza again then there's a good chance I'll need you three to keep his accomplice busy. If that is the case then I'll be running you three into the ground with your training." Her predatory smirk was enough to send a shiver down the backs of everyone present to see it.

The next afternoon found the team of ninja standing out in the clearing behind the bridge builder's home. Kushina's leg had healed quite a bit, her Uzumaki lineage giving her a faster rate of recovery than a normal person, although she wasn't putting too much stress on the leg as she stood infront of her students. "Alright then," she exclaimed as she clapped her hands loudly. "Today, we'll be working on your physical conditioning." The woman crouched down and placed both hands on the ground beneath her, after running through a long chain of handseals.

Several seconds passed as the woman focused, her eyes closed in concentration. " **Uzumaki Sealing Art: Gravity!** " the woman announced as seals darted forth from under her hands. They spread swiftly, forming a massive circular array that encompassed quite a large part of the clearing. The three genin's eyes widened before they found themselves crashing into the ground as their weight seemed to rise exponentially. It felt as if their bodies were full of lead and the air around them was thicker and harder to breathe in. Kushina winced as she felt herself get heavier and the wound on her leg throb with pain. The woman stood up straight, making sure to not place too much weight on her injured limb.

She couldn't help but snicker once she noticed her students struggling to stand infront of her. "Okay then," the woman began, a playful smile upon her lips as she watched the three genin look up at her in confusion. "I expect you three to be able to atleast walk properly by the end of today. This sealing circle has the effect of increasing the gravitational pull on those standing within it. It also uses the person's chakra in order to power itself so it will also have the added benefit of boosting your chakra reserves, even if ever so slightly. The gravitational pressure isn't much but you may find it slightly harder to breathe and function as you normally do."

Naruto let out a loud groan as he crashed into the ground once more. He looked over to his left to see Kasumi struggling to climb to her feet aswell. His head turned to the right only for him to sweatdrop when he noticed Tatsuo lying down on his back as he stared up at the sky. Kushina noticed her lazy student's behavior and frowned. "And those of you who aren't going to be able to do so will have to spend the night out here with the gravitational pull increased further!" She smirked in triumph when she heard her black-haired student groan in annoyance before he began to push himself up.

Kushina herself moved out of the circle before heading over to a secluded part of the field. She performed the technique once more before a similar sealing array, albeit smaller than the last one, glowed under her feet. The only difference was that she actually had to put in some effort to keep on her feet as she felt nearly twice the amount of weight she'd felt a moment ago whilst standing on the other array. She could feel the strain on her body, especially her heart as it increased its pace to pump blood around her body. "Alright then…let's get started," the woman muttered to herself before crouching down and placing her hands on the ground. She took a deep breath before flipping herself over so that she was standing on her hands. She then proceeded to start doing push-ups while still balancing herself on her arms.

"Wow…" Naruto mumbled as he watched his mother perform her exercise. He was barely able to keep himself from tumbling down into the ground. He couldn't help but smile when he thought about the woman. He held an immense amount of respect for her. The boy didn't waste any more time and proceeded to continue with his exercise. He smirked when he heard Kasumi's cry of outrage when she fell back to the ground. Several minutes passed as the three struggled to adapt to the increased gravity, finding that it wasn't too difficult to breathe but the air seemed denser than before.

"Hey Kasumi…" Tatsuo called out to the girl, once all of them had gotten accustomed to breathing in their new conditions. The girl looked over to see the boy slowly pushing himself up. He grunted in exertion before continuing with his question. "I was just wondering. When you left with sensei for all that time…" By this point, Naruto had also begun to pay attention to the conversation. "Where'd you guys go anyways? What were you two doing?"

Kasumi let out a yelp as she almost slipped and smashed into the ground again. Steadying herself she pushed herself up onto her knees and tried her best not to fall over again. "Well, Mom and I lived in a small village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire," the girl explained as she held her hands out to try and keep her balance. She looked over to see Naruto slowly lifting himself up aswell while Tatsuo wasn't trying too hard to get to his feet. "We tried not to stand out too much. Because we didn't want to attract too much attention to ourselves."

Naruto let out a loud grunt as he forced himself up on his knees, taking a moment to balance himself before he looked over to the young redhead once more. "Anyways, we spent the first two years of our time away from Konoha just getting accustomed to living there. It was weird because we had to come up with fake identities and stuff too." That set off some alarms in Tatsuo's head but it only seemed to excite Naruto. His enthusiasm did him little good, instead causing him to lose his balance and fall on his face once again. His teammates chuckled at the blonde's misfortune as he cursed out loud.

"We were also visited every month by one of those ANBU guys!" Kasumi exclaimed before flailing her arms around wildly as she tried to keep herself from suffering the same fate as her brother. This training was turning out to be far more annoying and tiring than it had seemed at first. Tatsuo had given up trying to lift himself up for the moment and was now simply lying down on the ground as he tried to process the information Kasumi had just given him. Why would she and Kushina need to be visited monthly by ANBU? Sure, he understood the need to hide their true identities but the monthly visits seemed like overkill, taking into account how strong the red-haired jounin was all by her lonesome.

Kasumi sighed upon seeing her lazy teammate resting once more. She just couldn't understand how he could be so laid back at times like these. He was still a talented ninja though and that was something she would agree on wholeheartedly. She felt the slight ache in her legs from trying to stay up for so long under such pressure and decided to take a few minutes to rest. Sitting back down a few steps away from her brother, she continued with her story.

"After that, Mom started my training," the girl said as her eyes grew distant and her mind went back to when she'd been alone with her mother. "She was really strict, but nice too. She pushed me to do better and supported me whenever I felt like I couldn't do something." She couldn't help herself as she went on to describe all the cool things she'd been taught. From tree-walking to water-based ninjutsu. She became slightly gloomy when she got to telling them about her nonexistent skill with genjutsu but cheered up not a moment later.

It wasn't until an hour had passed with them talking that the young girl suddenly looked very downcast when she remembered something else. "But Mom would cry almost every night. She thought I was asleep and wouldn't know, but there were times when I would catch her." Tatsuo looked over at his blonde teammate, only to see the boy looking down at the ground. "She used to think of herself as a terrible mother for leaving her son all alone." Tatsuo sighed, he'd never wanted this conversation to get so depressing. "She really did miss you big brother…" the girl stated as an awkward silence engulfed the space between the three.

The black-haired member of the group decided that he'd heard enough and let out a loud sigh. "Well, I don't know about you two but I don't plan on staying out here all night." His words caused his two teammates to snap out of their gloomy thoughts and look at him. "So, you two can sit here all day if you want. But I'm going to go ahead and get this over and done with…" The boy pushed himself up, ever-so-slowly standing up, before slowly lifting his foot and taking a slow shaky step forward. Only to immediately end up losing his balance and smashing his face into the soft ground beneath him. He heard his two teammates burst into laughter and smiled. If he had to act like an idiot to keep them happy, then he'd gladly do so. The boy frowned when he realized, however, that he'd actually been trying to walk that time. He really was going to despise this training exercise.

The next three days went by rather quickly for the team of ninja. And they'd been quite peaceful for the most part. Kushina had accompanied Tsunami to the town when they'd needed supplies and she was glad that they'd decided to continue the mission. The current state in which the people lived utterly disgusted her. She only hoped that Tazuna's bridge would bring some prosperity to the poor place.

The genin of Team 6 had made amazing progress in their training over the past few days. The three had managed to not only walk and run. They were now able to fight rather efficiently under the increased weight of their bodies. They weren't as capable as they would be normally but the three had gotten faster and stronger because of it. The team of four was currently seated at the table along with the family of their client.

There was a peaceful silence present around them as everyone enjoyed their dinner. Kasumi was happily chatting with her brother as she emptied her plate. Naruto was already asking for thirds and Kushina was just smiling warmly at her two children. Tatsuo merely leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, having finished eating a few moments ago. It was at this moment that Tsunami's young son broke the silence. "Why?" he mumbled, earning puzzled looks from everyone. "Why do you all try so hard? You're all just going to die…"

Naruto scowled at the boy before snorting rather loudly. "As if kid!" his words caught the younger boy's attention. "I'm going to be Hokage someday, so I don't plan on kicking the bucket any time soon!" The small child seemed to get angrier at hearing the blonde's response.

He stood up before yelling at the genin, tears present in his eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about?! Noone can beat Gato!" He looked over at the rest of them before continuing. "What do you all know anyways?! You all live happy lives in your big village! You don't know anything about suffering! You're all j-" his words died in his throat when he felt the air around him grow cold and his stomach twist into a knot. He looked over at the black-haired member of Team 6 and his eyes widened.

Tatsuo sat there glaring at the boy as his sharingan eyes whirled uncontrollably. He had his arms crossed across his chest and was practically radiating killer intent. "You think so, kid?" the Uchiha questioned as he slammed his hands into the tabletop and stood up. "You still have your mother and grandfather don't you?!" Tatsuo pushed his chair back before he walked out of the room and towards the door. Kushina yelled after the boy, asking him where he was going before receiving a single word as an answer. "Out!"

Kushina didn't wait long after the door slammed shut before rushing after her lazy student. She'd learnt that there weren't many things that got him angry but she had never seen that amount of hatred and rage in his eyes before. Naruto and Kasumi sent a quick glance towards eachother before rising from their seats aswell. The two nodded to eachother before excusing themselves from the table and running out after their sensei.

They found the woman standing outside, her eyes scanning the surrounding forest. She noticed her children exit the house and motioned for them to come to her. "I need the two of you to go look for Tatsuo over in that direction," she ordered as she pointed over towards the right. The two ninja nodded to the jounin before hopping off in search of their comrade. Kushina herself formed a quick handseal before a couple of clones popped into existence next to her. "Guard the house," she stated before heading out to find her runaway student.

Naruto and Kasumi hopped from branch to branch as they looked for their friend. The boy was very good at what he did. And his forte was speed and stealth. When he wanted, he could make himself nearly undetectable to most ninja who weren't skilled jounin. The two stopped once they entered a rather large clearing. They looked around before seeing a form in the center of the space. The figure turned around and smiled at the two before disappearing in a puff of white smoke. Naruto sighed once he saw this, knowing that he and Kasumi had been tricked.

The boy plopped down on his rear in the clearing before looking up at the star-filled sky. Kasumi noted her brother's actions and sat down next to him. "I guess we'll just have to leave it up to sensei to find him then…" the boy muttered as he lay down on the ground and crossed his arms behind his head, his sister following suite moments later. "It's been a while since I've seen Tatsuo lose it like that. He's probably beating himself over it now too." The blonde laughed slightly before letting out a loud yawn. "I'm too tired to head all the way back to the house. I'll get back in the morning…"

Kasumi was about to argue with her blonde sibling when she stopped and let out a loud yawn. She rubbed her eyes for a few seconds before deciding that this clearing wasn't too bad of a place to sleep. The two of them were extremely tired after their training session today. Fighting for an couple of hours straight under the strain of such gravitational pressure took a lot out of her. Her Uzumaki heritage wouldn't let her catch a cold very easily anyways, so there wasn't any real problem with sleeping out under the stars. The same could be said for Naruto as the boy let out a loud yawn right after her and closed his eyes, leaning back so that he was comfortable on the soft ground. A cool breeze blew past the two ninja, blowing the tall grass around and making for a serene scene. Kasumi couldn't help herself. She fell asleep with a large smile plastered across her face.

Kushina entered the small clearing cautiously. She looked around and saw her student sitting near the edge of the small lake that sat in the center of the glade. The woman frowned and approached him slowly, taking a seat next to him as the boy stared at his own reflection. Tatsuo had his chin placed comfortably on his knees with his arms wrapped around his legs. The genin didn't react to her presence, instead opting to merely continue gazing upon the rippling surface of the water.

Sensei and student sat side by side in silence for several minutes before Kushina decided to break the tension. "Tatsuo-kun…" the woman began, not gaining any response from the lazy boy. "…Are you alright?" This time the boy did move. He moved his head so that he was looking at the red-haired woman directly. Kushina's eyes widened upon seeing the tears brimming at the edges of the young boy's eyes.

The youth quickly shook his head before looking back at his reflection in the lake. Another moment passed before he spoke up, surprising his sensei with his words. "Why'd you leave?" Kushina stayed silent, her mind trying to process what the boy had just said. She stayed in that thoughtful state for several seconds before she too gazed down into the water surface.

"It started after the attack of the Ninetails…" she began, deciding that she wouldn't hide her reasons from the boy. He'd been Naruto's friend for quite a long time afterall. "When I was recovering from having the beast ripped from my body, the doctor brought me Kasumi and Naruto." Tatsuo didn't visibly react, but she was sure he was paying attention to every detail. "I held Kasumi-chan dearly. She was my daughter and I loved her like every mother does their child." Here the woman paused for a moment as if remembering something that made her uncomfortable or sad.

Tatsuo didn't push her, choosing to let her go at her own pace. Kushina silently thanked the boy for his patience, knowing that many genin were impulsive and impatient. She continued after taking a deep breath, tears forming in her eyes as she spoke up. "But when I was given Naruto-kun…I just-" here she stopped before letting out a choked sob as tears ran down her cheeks. Tatsuo patted the woman on the back, prompting her to continue. "I was afraid…"

"Of what?" questioned the young Uchiha as he looked at the crying woman, trying to understand her motives for leaving her son behind all those years ago.

"The Kyubi…" Kushina replied, her words interrupted by another sob. "It had taken away so much from me. My life had been horrible when I had been its container. And then it took away my husband…" She looked over to see her student staring out into the water. "And Naruto had gained those whisker marks too. I was afraid that he'd been possessed by the beast's soul." Her voice slowly grew into a whisper as she continued her tale. "And then when he opened his eyes…for a moment they'd been a the same. Just like its eyes…"

"I was frozen. I don't know what exactly happened...but for a moment I lost it. I think I may have dropped him. Thankfully, Kakashi-san had been there to catch him. " the red-haired beauty was suddenly thrown back into a flood of memories of that day. Her eyes watered when she played the events of that fabled day over and over in her mind.

… _ **Flashback…**_

 _Kushina sat there on her bed, crying her eyes out. Her husband was gone. Taken from her by the curse of the Nine-tailed Fox like so many. Her puffy red eyes darted over to the door when it opened. A man dressed in a long white coat entered the room. He was followed right after by an ANBU wearing a dog mask. The man approached her before smiling at the woman. "Well then, it seems they're both quite healthy," he stated as he handed her a small white bundle. She took it gently into her arms, before looking down at what lay within._

 _A smile spread across her face as she saw a pair of violet eyes looking curiously up at her. She stared lovingly at her young daughter, happy that the fox hadn't taken everything from her. She chuckled as the baby reached up with her tiny arms. She brought her own hand up to allow the little girl to grasp onto her fingers and giggled when she saw the infant's eyes light up with happiness. She was knocked out of her reverie by someone clearing their throat. Looking up she noticed a second bundle in the hands of the dog-masked ANBU._

 _She handed her daughter over to the doctor once more before reaching out to grab the child from the masked man. Upon receiving him she held him lovingly in her arms and moved the white cloth away slightly so she could gaze upon his face. She froze as she looked upon his features. A mixture of fear, anger and sadness washed over her. The boy had whisker-like marks on each cheek that sparked a feeling of dread within her. And then the newborn opened his eyes and she screamed. The next thing she knew was that she was being calmed by the man in white while the ANBU held a crying baby within his arms._

 _She was hyperventilating, her breathing uneven and her eyes darting all around the room. A single image had been burned into her mind. A pair of crimson slitted eyes staring up at her from the innocent face of her baby boy._

 _ **...Flashback End…**_

Kushina snapped out of her thoughts when she felt herself being shaken quite vigorously. She looked over to see Tatsuo gazing at her with worry evident on his face. The boy let out a sigh of relief once she looked over at him and sat back down next to the woman. "I'm sorry for making you remember something so painful," the boy apologized. "You don't have to keep going…"

Kushina took in several large gulps of air before shaking her head slowly. She wouldn't stop right now. The woman was determined to get past her fears and mistakes. This was her choice and she wouldn't leave it unfinished. "It's okay," she stated before looking back at her reflection. "I need to keep going…" Tatsuo nodded before going silent as he paid attention to the woman's words.

"It turned out that I'd developed a sort of fear of Naruto," the woman explained as she remembered what the doctors had revealed once they'd gone over her reactions and thoughts. "The events of that night had left me with severe psychological trauma. So much so that it had left me in a condition where I reacted extremely rashly towards anything that reminded me directly of the events of that night." The woman brought her hands up to rest her head against them as she went over her reasons for leaving her poor child. "You wouldn't believe how relieved I was when it turned out that I wouldn't react as harshly towards Kasumi. It seemed like Naruto's momentary change in eye colour had set something off within me..." Then came the memory. The horrid day she'd almost committed a mistake she would never forgive herself for.

… _ **Flashback…**_

 _Kushina took quick breaths as she leaned against the wall behind her. Her eyes were focused solely on the kunai that lay on the other side of the small nursery room. She couldn't believe what she'd almost done. Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated and her whole body shivering. Naruto lay in his little cot, asleep and oblivious to what was happening around him._

 _Kakashi looked over the young boy with relief. He was currently thanking every deity he could think of that he'd been able to make it in time. Moments ago, Kushina had attempted to stab the infant that he was watching at this very moment. If he had been merely a split second late, then young Naruto would no longer be breathing. The white-haired man looked over to the red-haired woman, his eyes softening upon seeing her horrified and panicked state. It seemed like the events of that day had taken a greater toll on her then they'd initially thought. He sighed, before closing his one visible eye. He'd have to see what would be done about the woman._

… _ **Flashback End…**_

"After that, I decided that it would be better for both me and Naruto-kun if I left for some time…" the woman explained as she looked up at the night sky. "Atleast until I was able to get over my mental trauma." Tatsuo's eyes were wide after hearing the woman's story. He'd never imagined that her reasons would be so shocking. He now understood why Naruto hadn't wanted to talk about it.

"A week before I returned to the village, the ANBU Hokage-sama had assigned to evaluate my mental state confirmed that I had recovered enough for duty," Kushina announced as she hugged herself. "I came back as soon as I could. But it seems I still haven't gotten over my fear…atleast not completely yet." The two sat in silence for some time, simply gazing over the peaceful breeze and scenery.

"I haven't had the best childhood," the young Uchiha began, taking a deep breath before uttering any more. "Naruto was one of my first friends. He helped me through a lot. That's why I was so suspicious of you at first. I still am a bit, to be honest. But if what you're saying is true…" the genin looked over to see his sensei gazing at him expectantly. "I'm glad you're back to help Naruto out in his life." Kushina smiled softly at her student's words before suddenly engulfing him in a tight embrace. Tatsuo couldn't help but smile aswell, it had been a long time since he'd received such a motherly hug after all.

Kasumi awoke to the feeling of being shaken lightly. She opened her eyes slightly, wincing at the bright sunshine before noticing the person next to her. The person who'd shook her awake had long black hair, pale skin and brown eyes. The youth also wore a light pink kimono that was tied around his waist by a white obi. Kasumi couldn't help but blush slightly upon seeing the one who'd woken her. She lifted herself up and rubbed her eyes. "You really shouldn't be sleeping out here…" she heard from next to her. She looked back to the teen and tilted her head in confusion. "You could catch a cold, you know…"

The red-haired genin waved the kind youth off and looked over to see her brother still fast asleep next to her. She shook the blonde boy awake, only for him to dart up with a cry of 'My ramen!' She sweatdropped at his reaction along with the person behind her. Naruto took a moment to calm himself and look around, before his eyes landed on the pink-wearing teen. "Nice to meet you, shinobi-san…" the stranger greeted.

A few minutes later found the three of them looking around the small clearing in search of a particular species of plant-life. "So Haku-san!" Kasumi yelled over to the boy as she picked up another herb and gazed around to find some more. "What're you doing looking for these herbs anyways?" Her question earned her a chuckle from the teen before he stood up and looked towards her.

"A person very precious to me is currently not in the best of conditions…" the boy explained as he plucked out a few more of the special herbs from the ground. "I hope to be able to make some medicine for him using these herbs." The boy walked over to Kasumi and took the small bundle of the plants the girl had gathered up. "Thank you for your help." Naruto laughed out loud before patting the teen on the back before placing a handful of the herbs into Haku's small basket.

"No need for any thanks," the blonde ninja exclaimed as he stood next to his sister with a smile plastered on his face. "It's our job as ninja to help people out!"

Haku smiled at the siblings before speaking to them. "You know, I've always believed that a person can only truly grow strong when they have someone precious to them that they want to protect." Naruto and Kasumi listened to the boy's words before smiling at eachother. "I can see that you two care deeply for eachother. I'm sure you'll become very strong!" Haku announced before looking up at the position of the sun. "Oh my! I've taken far too long with this…Thank you for your help, Naruto-san and Kasumi-san!" the boy exclaimed before turning around and beginning to walk away.

"Hope we meet again!" Kasumi yelled after the boy as she waved at his retreating form. Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. Get stronger by having someone precious to protect, eh? That sounded like something he'd believe in. The boy made a promise to himself to always remember that.

Haku stopped just as he was about to leave their range of hearing before stopping and turning around to face them with a mischievous smile on his face. "I'm sure we will! And by the way…" he stated gaining both the genin's attention. "…I'm a boy." And with that he departed, laughing inwardly at the stunned faces of the two shinobi.

Naruto and Kasumi stood in shocked silence for a few moments before turning to eachother ever so slowly. They tried to speak up before simply giving up on trying to comprehend the boy's words and ended up crumpling to the ground. They sat there for a few minutes before they heard the rustling of leaves. Looking around they found Tatsuo entering the clearing, moving a few thin low-hanging branches out of his way. He came up to the two and stood silently infront of them for a moment.

"Sensei is going to kill you two for leaving her uninformed about your little nap here…" the boy muttered before shaking his head sadly. Kasumi and Naruto felt a shiver go down their spines upon hearing their teammate's words. The two looked back at eachother once more before gulping. The two shared a single thought as they followed the black-haired genin out of the clearing and back towards their client's house. 'Worst decision ever!'

* * *

 **And that's that! Hope this satisfied some of your questions regarding Kushina's absence and why Naruto was so forgiving towards her. It's because he understands that she did it not only for herself but to protect him aswell. Hence he doesn't really hold a grudge.**

 **Anyways, not much action in this chapter. More of that in the next one. I'll try and make it better than this one. Feel free to review and ask me any questions you have. Or just give me some positive criticism. I love hearing from my readers. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing good.**

 **Well then, seeya next time! Nya!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Phew! This one was a bit harder to write...dunno why really. Plus, I had a LOT of homework this week so I had to really take away some hours of sleepy time. All in all, I'm tired. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites.**

 **The gravitational training as mentioned by a7xfanatic?(Please tell me I got that right)...Yeah so the gravity training won't play too big a part in the training of Team 6 but I might put it in here and there. The training itself works in the way that it uses chakra to form an area of intensified gravity. Again, nothing too serious but just enough to require a substantial amount of effort to get used to. It's nothing like training in DBZ where they train under a hundred times or even twice the amount of normal gravity really. Thanks for the reviews dude!**

 **Any other questions? Leave them in a review and I'll try my best to answer them. Also, I was really tired while editing this chappy so if you find any spelling or grammatical errors, please forgive me. Feel free to notify me however and i'll correct them as soon as possible.**

 **Disclaimer: I'm too tired to come up with something witty to say here so...I donot own Naruto.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Naruto stared up at the large cage infront of him. The boy's feet were immersed in water and his clothes were soaked. The young genin's expression showed annoyance as he gazed at what lay beyond the bars of the enormous prison. A single red eye that was far larger than the boy himself opened itself within the dark expanse of the cage. A single red slitted pupil locking onto him. Naruto waited patiently for the owner of the eye to speak and was rewarded with a harsh wind that blew his hair back.

" **Hello…brat,** " a deep voice echoed throughout the room, causing the blonde to grunt before staring up expectantly at the single red eye. " **I can't say it's very nice to see you again…** "

"The feeling's mutual furball!" Naruto retorted, crossing his arms across his chest and staring expectantly at his tenant. "So, why'd you bring me here? Got something to say?"

The eye closed before the owner of the organ came into view. A colossal fox entered the light that illuminated the front of its cage from the outside. It had red-orange fur and odd bunny-like ears. The beast was huge, towering over the tiny blonde as its crimson eyes bore down into the boy. " **Don't refer to me by such a humiliating title,** " the beast stated, its eyes narrowing when it spoke. " **I am the Kyubi no Kitsune!** "

"Yeah, you say that everytime we talk," replied the ninja as he waved the giant creature off. "Get to the point already! Why'd you bring me here you oversized plushy?"

" **Ungrateful brat!** " the fox roared, glaring at the smaller human before grunting and deciding to continue. " **I've felt an immense amount of chakra around you lately…** " Naruto rose an eyebrow at the fox's words, wondering where he was going with this. " **…My chakra…I want it back…** "

Naruto took a moment to process the large creature's words before chuckling. "Did you really think that would work?" the boy questioned once he was done laughing. The large fox infront of him glared at him before sighing and laying down, resting its head on its paws.

" **Couldn't hurt to try…** " the fox muttered before giving the boy a toothy grin. " **All you'd have to do is release the seal on her that holds my chakra and I'd do the rest.** " Upon receiving a shake of the head from its jailer the Kyubi let out a sigh before closing its eyes. " **Pathetic…one day you shall need my power, human.** " Naruto frowned once he heard the words of his tenant, choosing to remain silent. " **And only then will you see the wisdom of doing as I say…** " With that, the large spirit went silent.

Knowing that he wouldn't be having much of a conversation with the fox now, Naruto turned around and started walking. The boy stopped to say one last thing, turning his head to look at the beast out of the corner of his eye. "You're wrong. I'll never let my precious people get hurt to gain more power." And with that, the boy wandered off into one of the many tunnels that connected to this central chamber.

Naruto awoke to the sounds of shouting. The boy rose up and rubbed his eyes before looking around. He couldn't see any of his teammates or his sensei. The boy looked out the window to see it was sometime around noon. His ears twitched when he heard shouting once more. Recognizing Tsunami's panicked voice he shot up to his feet and out of the room. The blonde genin rushed down the stairs and found the living room in a wreck. Hearing a ruckus in the kitchen, the teen cursed before heading to help.

Inari closed his eyes in fear as the blade descended upon him. He had tried to save his mother, but it seemed like he wasn't strong enough. The boy snapped his eyes open when he heard his attacker swear rather loudly. He saw the man fly back as he was kicked straight in the face. The sword-holding man crashed into the far wall, sliding down against it and laying still. His companion cursed as his grip on Tsunami loosened. The woman broke free of his grasp and ran over to her son.

"Get back he-" the man couldn't finish his sentence as he found Naruto's fist buried in his gut. He let out a muffled grunt of pain before he was smashed across the face by the boy's other fist. He found himself flung across the room and into one of the walls, after which his world went dark.

Inari hugged his mother tightly, holding onto her as if she would disappear if he let go. Tsunami hugged the boy back, tears of happiness and relief running down her cheeks. She looked over to see their blonde savior tying up the two bandits with a spool of metal wire. "Naruto-san? Are you alright?" the woman questioned the young ninja who looked over at her with a puzzled expression.

"Why wouldn't I be?" the boy asked as he pulled the ninja wire taut and made sure that the two bandits wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Kushina-san brought you in last night," Tsunami informed the boy as he dusted his hands off before walking over to the two. "She said that you'd overworked yourself…"

Naruto's eyes widened in realization before he nodded to the woman, creating two clones to keep them safe from then onwards. "Yeah, I sort of went overboard with the training yesterday," the boy explained while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. His expression grew serious as he looked back to the restrained men. "If these two are here then Zabuza's probably at the bridge. I'll leave my clones here to keep you two safe, but I need to head to the bridge."

Tsunami nodded before smiling at the genin. The woman bowed deeply infront of the blonde, much to the surprise of both her son and their savior. "Thank you for saving my son, Naruto-san," the woman spoke, surprising the Uzumaki. "I could never repay you for what you've done."

Naruto waved the woman off before smiling at the two. "Hey, it's my job!" he exclaimed before turning to head out the door. "Afterall, I wouldn't be a very good Hokage if I couldn't even protect the innocent!" The two watched as the boy opened the door and ran out, intent on reaching the bridge before it was too late.

Kushina did her best to ignore her worry when Tatsuo and Kasumi rushed off to fight against the fake hunter-nin. She needed to stay focused on her current opponent if she wanted to survive and be able to help her students. Turning her head slightly she saw her client guarded by a pair of her clones. The kunoichi hoped that would be enough to keep the man out of trouble. Looking back ahead her eyes met Zabuza's. A few seconds passed before both jounin moved.

Kushina hunched over as four chains rocketed out of her back. Zabuza didn't wait for the golden projectiles to reach him. The man unhooked his oversized sword from its place on his back and leapt to his side, avoiding the incoming chains and rushing towards the red-haired jounin.

Kushina brought up a kunai while leaping backwards to put some distance in between herself and the approaching missing ninja. She swung her other arm, sending several shuriken speeding towards the man only to have them bounce harmlessly off of the flat side of his raised blade. The man smirked before transitioning into a spin as he swung his blade in a wide arc.

The kunoichi hopped over the speeding weapon before swiping downwards with her kunai. Her hand was caught by Zabuza in a tight grip as the man twisted his sword to bring it around for another swing. Kushina caught the man's arm to stop his attack before she glared at him. The missing ninja smirked at the woman before she was sliced in half from behind by his clone. His gleeful expression faded, however, when the severed halves of the woman turned into water and splashed onto the ground. Hearing a sizzling sound, the ex-Kiri shinobi looked at the ground beneath him to see the kunai the woman had held earlier. Specifically, the active exploding tag wrapped around it.

He leapt back out of the blast radius as his clone was engulfed in the explosion. The man's eyes darted to the right when he noticed movement and he barely managed to avoid the golden chains that smashed into the ground where he'd been moments ago. Speeding through a small sequence of one-handed handseals the swordsman spewed forth a torrent of water at his red-haired opponent, only to have the woman dart to the side and avoid his attack.

Kushina's eyes moved over to see a dome of mirrors form around her students. She muttered a few curses under her breath before changing directions and rushing towards Zabuza. Sliding under the man's horizontal swing she lunged at him with another kunai, only for him to lean over to his left to avoid the pointed weapon and then grab onto her arm. She smirked upon seeing his eyes widen as seals began to glow on her arm. Her opponent let go of the limb, having felt the initial shock when the seals activated before attempting to smash his knee into the woman's gut. His leg was stopped by the woman's other hand before he found himself on the receiving end of a severe electrical shock.

Performing a quick water-based replacement like the woman had earlier, Zabuza managed to escape her clutches before he fell to one knee and took several deep breaths. He looked up and deflected the incoming kunai before glaring at the redhead he was fighting. Forcing himself up to his feet, he stumbled slightly before focusing once more on the konoha jounin. "You're getting really annoying…" the man stated, his grip on his sword tightening.

"And you're really persistant!' Kushina retorted as she glared back at the missing ninja. Her eyes wandered over to the dome of ice once more before she looked back to see Zabuza rushing towards her. She grimaced before preparing herself for his assault. The Uzumaki woman sidestepped a downward slash that crashed into the ground next to her before twirling around and smashing her elbow into the side of the man's face. Zabuza stumbled slightly before launching a spinning kick at the woman. Kushina stepped back to avoid the strike before leaping backwards to avoid the bladed edge of the man's sword. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the man run through a chain of handseals before the water around the two darted towards her in the form of dozens of needles.

The red-haired jounin frowned before kneeling down and placing her hands on the ground below her. The needles did little to the near invisible barrier that popped up around her as the sealing array beneath her gave off a light glow. The Konoha jounin did notice when her enemy took her momentary distraction to close the gap between them.

Bringing up a kunai to block the much larger blade, Kushina stared up at her opponent as she tried her best to keep the large cleaver-like weapon at bay. Noting how she wasn't faring too well though, the woman let loose several chains from the front of her torso that impaled the man infront of her. He however splashed into a puddle of water, signifying that he'd been a clone.

Letting her eyes dart around she found herself having to bounce back several meters in order to avoid the large serpentine water dragon that crashed into the bridge. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** " Kushina announced as she ran ahead with two clones following her. Zabuza ducked under an overhead swing from one of the redheads before rolling back to avoid the one that attacked him from his right. Rising to his feet, the man parried a strike from the third clone and then brought his sword up infront of himself to block the pair of golden chains that had attempted to skewer him.

Pushing the metal lengths to his side as he spun around, the man flung his sword towards the three copies before rushing after the spinning weapon. One of Kushina's clones wasn't fast enough and found itself dispersing as it was sliced in two by the rotating blade. The other found itself on the receiving end of a brutal assault, courtesy of the missing ninja. A swift jab and the clone found itself dispelling, leaving Zabuza to face the original Kushina alone.

The man took a few deep breaths to steady himself before rushing at the woman once more. Kushina didn't wait for him to reach her, choosing to meet the unarmed man head on. Meeting in the middle, the woman parried a straight punch before having to block a spinning kick. She attempted to stab her opponent while he was off balance but found her arm being caught and used to flip her over the other jounin and into the ground. Taking a second to get her bearings the woman let loose several chains that forced her opponent to back off before she jumped to her feet.

The two met once more in hand-to-hand combat as they attempted to outmaneuver the other. Kushina ducked under a spinning kick before going for an uppercut, only to have Zabuza lean back enough to dodge her punch by an inch. The missing ninja swung his arm and nailed the woman in her gut, forcing the air out of her lungs and sending her skidding backwards before he followed up with several handseals. " **Water Style: Cutting Torrent!** " the man exclaimed, launching a thin stream of highly pressurized water from the space infront of his mouth.

Kushina saw the attack coming and managed to move out of the way enough that the stream only cut through the side of her stomach. The woman let out a pained grunt as she crouched down on the ground, one hand holding her recently acquired wound tightly. She glared up at Zabuza, seeing the man breathing heavily aswell. A moment of respite passed in between the two before Kushina's eyes shot wide open as she felt an ominous chakra radiating from the dome of ice which had obscured her students from view. A chakra that brought memories of that terrible day years ago flooding back.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes as he looked over to the dome of ice Haku had made. He felt the feeling of dread wafting through the air, emanating from the dome of mirrors. His eyes returned to his enemy, only to find the woman herself radiating a dense shroud of chakra. The man's expression changed to shock as the red-haired kunoichi rose to her feet, the pain from her recent injury apparently gone. Every part of skin visible on the woman seemed to be covered in several curved seals that glowed an intense shade of red.

" **Uzumaki Sealing Art: Accursed Deity…** " the redhead muttered as her hair floated behind her slightly. The air around her seemed to crackle with power and the puddles of water around her seemed to ripple on their own. Zabuza braced himself for anything the woman could throw at him, knowing not to underestimate the sealing prowess of an Uzumaki. However, no amount of preparation could have readied him for what was to come.

The missing ninja felt the air leave his lungs as he found a fist buried in his gut. He felt his feet leave the ground as he was rocketed backwards, only to be caught in the tight grip of a single thick golden chain. The metal length pulled him back to its owner, the man's eyes going wide as he saw her approaching fist. He barely managed to perform a quick replacement, crashing into the ground a little distance away. Rising to his feet, the man found himself suddenly restrained, chains stabbing through his arms and wrapping around them. They lifted him into the air, bringing him up to hang a few meters away from the demonic kunoichi.

"I apologize, but I can't afford to waste any more time here…" Kushina stated before she launched a single chain towards the man, the end of which was a pointed spear. However, the events that followed were something no one could have expected.

Some time prior to this moment, Tatsuo and Kasumi had rushed off to engage the fake hunter-nin. The two stood on either side of the masked ninja, their bodies tense in preparation for the upcoming battle. "You sure you don't want to give up?" questioned Tatsuo, hoping to not have to fight his current opponent. Receiving no response, Tatsuo sighed before getting serious with his sharingan glaring at the enemy shinobi.

"Yeah, didn't think so…" the boy muttered before smirking. His masked opponent's body tensed as the black-haired boy rushed him, his red-haired teammate following his lead a moment later. Tatsuo launched several shuriken at the teen during his approach only to have them miss as the boy hopped back. Kasumi moved out of the way of the shuriken and formed a single handseal.

The masked ninja ducked under a spinning kick from one of Kasumi's clones and brought his arm up to block Tatsuo's punch. The boy then grabbed the arm of Kasumi's second clone before it reached him, and pulled it in before smashing his elbow into the clone's gut. He felt Tatsuo grab his arm and pull him into another punch which the teen dodged by moving his head to the side. He stumbled back slightly, before blocking another kick from one of the Kasumi copies. Grabbing onto the redhead's arm he pulled her and smashed his knee into the genin's gut, prompting the clone to disappear in a small cloud of white smoke.

Sidestepping a kunai that was sent speeding towards him, the boy slammed his palm into the chest of another red-haired clone before choosing to rush the black-haired genin. Tatsuo frowned at his opponent's approach before noticing him running through handseals. He felt his feet grow cold as the water around them rushed up to his ankles and solidified into ice. His eyes moved back just in time to see his opponent reach him. The masked ninja then proceeded to twirl around before smashing a hard kick into Tatsuo's face, sending the boy skidding backwards.

Running through a few one-handed seals, the teen tapped his foot on the ground before the air around him grew chilly. " **Ice Style: Silent Frost…** " the fake hunter-nin muttered as the mist around him froze over on the few remaining redhead lookalikes that surrounded him. Kasumi and her clones froze as their bodies were covered in a thin but surprisingly hard layer of ice, leaving them wide open for their opponent to systematically destroy them. Eventually, the real Kasumi felt the boy bury his fist in her stomach and the air leave her lungs before she was flung back through the air.

Flying backwards she was caught by Tatsuo as the two skidded backwards on the boy's feet. Helping the girl get her balance the boy looked back over to their opponent, seeing the teen standing calmly a little distance away. Tatsuo looked over the teen with his sharingan, noting that he didn't seem at all worried about them. The boy grimaced, knowing that his opponent could actually afford to be a bit lax about the situation.

"Hey Kasumi," the Uchiha called, gaining the redhead's attention. "Are you alright?" Gaining a nod from the girl the boy looked over to her. "Good, I don't think I'd be able to take this guy down alone…" Looking back at their enemy, Tatsuo decided to get the fight over with. "Let's kick things up a notch. Back me up!"

The masked ninja tensed when Tatsuo rushed at him once more. He made sure to avoid making eye contact with the boy. Flipping forwards, the black-haired youth smashed the heel of his foot into the ground, his opponent having stepped out of the way. The masked teen stepped back to avoid the swipe of the boy's kunai. At the same time, Kasumi leapt over her teammate and tried a downward punch that her opponent once more dodged. The teen dashed forward to try and attack the girl, only to be punched hard in his chest by a clone of Tatsuo that appeared next to the girl. The teen didn't have any time to react as a pair of clones of the red-haired Uzumaki leapt at him and rammed into him. The boy looked up just in time to see the two clones move out of the way as the young Uchiha breathed out a ball of fire.

Tatsuo watched as his jutsu engulfed their masked opponent, not taking his eyes off of where he'd been to make sure that he was actually dead. Kasumi cursed, saying what her teammate was thinking when the flames subsided to reveal a mirror-like wall of ice that had saved the masked shinobi. The teen walked out from behind the icy wall, the structure crumbling to minuscule crystals a second later.

"You two are better than I expected," the teen muttered as his hands formed handseals at a relaxed pace. Tatsuo and Kasumi both tensed as they felt the air around them grow cold. "But I'm afraid I'll have to end this. **Ice Style: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals,** " his words were followed by the mist around the three ninja thickening as the vapor solidified into dozens of mirrors. Tatsuo grit his teeth and looked around, finding himself and Kasumi trapped within a dome of frozen mirrors. His eyes returned to his opponent once more only to see the masked ninja sink into the surface of one of the mirrors.

"What?!" Kasumi yelled out in alarm as an image of the boy appeared in each of the mirrors. The two genin stood back-to-back as their eyes dated from one image of the boy to another, their clones having been left outside the dome when it formed. "Which one's the real one?!" Tatsuo didn't wait around, running through several handseals before forming a ring around his mouth with his fingers. The lazy boy breathed out a stream of flames that crashed into the mirrors on one side of the dome but his eyes widned upon seeing the nearly nonexistent amount of damage that his technique had done to the structures.

"You won't be able to escape so easily," their opponent stated, his voice seemingly resounding from all around them. Kasumi growled under her breath as she looked around for a way out. "I'm sorry, but I can't afford to take any longer here." The next thing the two genin knew, they had become the targets of numerous senbon made of ice. Tatsuo's eyes watched the approaching needles diligently, noting where they were coming from.

Pulling out a kunai the black-haired ninja deflected a few, pulling Kasumi out of the way of another barrage and then rolling out of the way of another volley. The boy winced when he felt a few of the weapons dig into his back and leave shallow cuts in his legs. His eyes landed on Kasumi, seeing the girl suffering from a few similar wounds. His eyes narrowed as he took another look around the dome of mirrors to try and pinpoint the location of their opponent.

"Impressive," the two heard from all around them, prompting them to move their heads wildly to find the source of the voice, but to no avail. "But how long will you be able to keep it up?" Kasumi's eyes widened as the masked ninja let loose another wave of frozen needles, at a much faster speed than last time. She saw the senbon approaching, but knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid them fast enough. And then, she was pushed aside. She fell onto the ground as several icy needles clattered to the ground around her.

"Tatsuo!" she yelled, as she shook her head to get rid of the slight wooziness from it hitting the ground. "What was th-" The girl's words died in her throat as her eyes landed on her teammate. She couldn't help herself as she gazed upon his form. The Uchiha was covered in needles, much like a pincushion. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were half-lidded as he stared at her with a grim smile. The teen let out a small cough before crumbling to the ground in a heap, the senbon bending at odd angles as he lay there.

Kasumi took a moment to process what she was seeing before letting out a loud yell of her fallen teammate's name and rushing over to him. Her opponent watched unseen as the events resulting from his actions unfolded. "Tatsuo! You idiot!" the redhead screamed as she kneeled next to them, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why'd you do that?! What were you thinking?!" The girl shook him by his shoulders lightly when his eyes began to close, trying to keep him awake. "Don't close your eyes you idiot!"

The boy let out a weak chuckle, his eyes gazing at her in annoyance. "You're the idiot," the boy weakly muttered before coughing again. "You think I'd let one of my friends die? Better yet…" here the boy paused to take a shaky breath. "You think Naruto would have been okay with that?" Kasumi let out a choked sob at the boy's words, knowing what he'd done was something he would do again without a shred of hesitation. "Jeez stop crying. I'm finally going to be able to get some sleep without being disturbed. So don't ruin this for me…" Kasumi's eyes widened as the boy's eyes began to close and his breathing grew weaker. "Make sure you don't die, you ditz…"

Kasumi shook the boy to try and make him wake up. She yelled out his name as tears flooded down her face. And then she stopped, her body going still as her eyes closed. Her masked opponent took the time to emerge from one of the mirrors, his reflections disappearing for the moment. "Is this the first time you've seen a friend die?" the boy questioned, watching the motionless girl as she knelt over the body of her still teammate.

Kasumi herself was not mentally present. She found herself standing within a large white expanse with her feet immersed within water. She looked down at the rippling liquid, seeing the slight bluish tinge it had to it. Her dull eyes moved upwards to look above her. In the air, several feet above her, she saw an enormous glass sphere. The titanic transparent ball was floating mysteriously in the air, filled with a copious amount of a crimson liquid. The liquid itself occupied the top half of the sphere, seemingly being inverted inside the glass orb.

Kasumi stared blankly at the structure, before taking note of the red liquid slowly beginning to trickle down the sides of the inside of the sphere. It slowly crawled down to a few of the several large holes present at the bottom in a circular pattern. The girl didn't even flinch when a small amount of the substance poured down from the sphere and into the large lake she was standing upon. The red liquid met the blue water and slowly began to spread, mingling with the blue water, before slowly creeping towards the young genin. Kasumi didn't react. All she knew was that she would avenge her fallen friend. The red substance surrounded her and made contact with her submerged feet. And her world exploded into a sea of rage.

The masked ninja didn't have time to react. One moment the girl had been kneeling down beside her teammate, crying her eyes out. And then, he found her seemingly appearing infront of him, a cloak of what seemed like red chakra pulsing around her. She was too fast for him to even try and keep up now. The girl had her fist pulled back and a feral expression present on her face. Her eyes had changed to red slits, her teeth and nails having lengthened into fangs and claws. She let her fist fly and the masked ninja flew backwards, crashing through the mirror behind him with his mask falling around him in pieces, along with the shards of the broken mirror.

The boy landed hard on the ground, skidding back a good few meters before he came to a slow halt. He pushed himself up, only to receive a harsh kick to his chest that sent him sliding across the ground once more until he came to a painful stop with his back hitting the railing that bordered the bridge. He lay there trying to get his bearings as his vision swam and his body cried out in unimaginable pain. What had happened? He felt someone grab his throat and lift him up into the air. He felt his feet lift off the ground ever-so-slightly and the pointed nails digging into the skin of his neck.

"Haku?!" Kasumi growled upon seeing the boy's familiar face. Her grip on his throat loosened a bit, but not by much. "Why?! Why would you do this?!" Her words prompted the boy to give her a small smile as he looked at her, struggling to breathe as he spoke up. Kasumi's cloak of red chakra had begun to dissipate at this point, her claws and fangs shrinking slightly aswell.

"It's because Zabuza-sama is precious to me…" the boy let out, doing his best to speak up with the young girl's hand around his throat. "I am nothing more than his tool. If he wishes for me to fight…then I will fight." The boy closed his eyes and gave the girl a smile, accepting his fate without hesitation. "And now that I've lost, he has no use of me. So please, kill me…" Kasumi's eyes widened and she looked at the teen with shock.

"What're you saying?" she muttered, not understanding how the young shinobi could simply just give up. "How could you just want to die like that? I don't understand!" Kasumi let go of the boy, taking a step back as she took deep breaths. Using that weird chakra had taken a lot out of her. She assumed it had been the Kyubi's.

It was at this moment that Haku's eyes widened when he noticed something before he rushed at the girl, ignoring the burning pain in his body. "I'm sorry Kasumi-san!" he knocked the girl out with a swift palm strike to her gut and then a hard chop to the back of the girl's neck. He caught her as she fell and lay her down before rushing towards where his master was.

Kushina watched in surprise as the fake hunter-nin from before landed infront of Zabuza, without his mask this time. The boy spread his arms out to his sides and shielded the ex-Kiri ninja. Zabuza's eyes too widened upon seeing the young boy appear before him and the man let out a low growl. He forced his arms to move, pushing himself forward despite the chains holding him back and knocked the young boy out of the way, Kushina's chain stabbing through his left shoulder. The man let out a pained grunt before falling to the ground as his golden restraints disappeared.

Kushina kneeled on the ground taking deep breaths as she tried to catch her breath once the seals on her body had faded. The woman looked up to find Haku kneeling next to the wounded ex-Kiri shinobi. The young teen looked over his master in panic, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. It was at that moment that everyone present heard laughing. Looking to the end of the bridge revealed the source of the laughter, the mist having lessened due to Zabuza's weakened state.

"Is this what the big bad Demon has become?" questioned a small pudgy man in a suit. He had puffy brown hair and wore a small pair of black glasses. The man was accompanied by a small army of thugs, all armed with less than well-cared-for weapons. He tapped his cane rather loudly on the ground, a chuckle escaping his lips as he looked upon the group of shinobi present on the bridge. "How pathetic! Such a pitiful excuse for a demon, Zabuza. I'm glad I decided not to pay you at all!"

"You bastard!" the missing ninja exclaimed, doing his best to stand on his feet. He leaned against Haku for some balance before growling when he saw the man laughing at his current state. "I'll kill you for this!"

"Is that so?" the shorter man asked, stepping back and motioning for his thugs to advance. "I'd like to see you try! Kill them and the town is yours!" The bandits advanced slowly, brandishing their weapons with menacing expressions plastered across their faces.

"Haku…you're hurt," the wounded jounin stated, much to the surprise and shock of the young teen. He stepped infront of the boy, prompting him to try and stop the elder man only to wince and grab his chest as he felt the pain from his earlier thrashing. Zabuza looked back at the teen and frowned under the bandages that covered his mouth. "I never got your name…" the man mumbled, looking over at the exhausted red-haired jounin. The woman seemed surprised for a moment before tilting her head slightly at the man.

"Kushina Uzumaki…" the woman answered, her eyes narrowing slightly as she noticed the bandits approaching them. She wasn't sure what the man was going to do now, but she knew that she was in no condition to fight off the entire horde of thugs Gato had brought with him. The two clones she had guarding Tazuna wouldn't be able to keep up with the sheer number of enemies and would be dispersed even if they were hit with a lucky shot. And by using the **Accursed Deity** technique she had practically burned through most of her remaining chakra reserves.

Zabuza nodded to the woman before turning his eyes back to the bandits. "I probably won't be around after this," the man muttered, earining a yell of alarm from Haku. "You were a formidable opponent. I'd like to ask you for a favour." Kushina didn't interrupt, choosing to let the man speak his piece. "I'd like you to take Haku with you, to Konoha." Haku attempted to argue, only to be silenced by a quick glare from his master. "He wasn't a shinobi in Kiri. So you won't encounter any problems on that front." The man bit down on the bandages wrapped around his mouth, before pulling them down to reveal his narrow jawline and oddly jagged teeth.

Kushina didn't answer immediately, going over what the man was asking of her. She wasn't an idiot. She knew how the ninja world worked. People who you fought to kill one moment could become your allies at the drop of a hat. And she was sure that Konoha wouldn't turn down such a talented addition to their shinobi forces, especially someone who had abilities like Haku. "Alright, I'll take him back to the Leaf," the woman replied, giving the man a sincere smile as she forced herself onto her feet. Zabuza nodded, even going as far to give the woman a genuine smile.

"Thank you," he said, turning to face the young boy who was in tears at that point. "Haku. I'm sorry for treating you as I have up till this point." The black-haired youth shook his head, refusing to believe what was happening. "I've grown close to you over the years. Truth be told, I consider you more of a son than anything else." The man let out a grunt of pain and stumbled slightly as he was wrapped in a tight embrace by his adoptive son. "I hope you'll forgive me, but I'm going to have to leave soon." Haku's grip around the man tightened, tears continuing to stream down his face like a never-ending stream.

The man turned to face the woman. "I'd really appreciate a kunai…since I can't move my arms very well at this point," the man requested, receiving a sheepish chuckle from the redhead before she retrieved and tossed the man the weapon, which he proceeded to catch in his mouth.

Kushina sighed before steadying herself. She hated her kindhearted nature sometimes, but she wouldn't forgive herself for not atleast trying to lend the man a helping hand. "I'll clear a path for you…" she assured him, receiving a grateful nod in return. The two began walking towards the gathered group of thugs. Haku remained behind, clutching his chest as he kneeled on the ground, wishing he could change what was about to happen. Alas, it seemed like there wasn't much he could do. He would have to accept his master's decision. But it didn't mean he couldn't atleast try to help.

"Get them!" Gato shouted out, rallying his men to begin their assault. They barely made it to the two approaching jounin. Golden chains ripped through their ranks, blood splattering the ground and screams filling the air. Zabuza rushed through the group of bandits, ignoring the dying men around him and cutting through the few that tried to stop him. He winced when he received several wounds, knowing that he wouldn't be surviving this experience but not slowing down in the slightest. It wouldn't help him to take too long, otherwise he might not be able to make it to the midget.

It wasn't long before Kushina collapsed, her chakra reserves exhausted. With her down, Zabuza found himself facing many more opponents than he had been moments ago. The man growled through the kunai gripped in between his jaws before engaging them once more. He smirked when he saw a few of the men fall down dead as they were impaled by several icy spikes. He sent one last glance at his adoptive son, before jumping back into the fray. It didn't really look like he'd be able to reach his desired victim though.

The man's eyes widened however when chaos broke out within the group of bandits. Dozens of copies of the blonde genin from Team 6 assaulted them from all directions. The copies smashed heads together and slammed the bandits into the ground with bone-breaking force. He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and pushed on, slicing throats and stabbing chests. His eyes met the bright blue ones of one of the blonde clones in the heat of battle and the two seemed to come to a silent understanding before the moment passed. Blood rained and bones broke once more as screams resounded throughout the clearing.

Naruto did his best to incapacitate his enemies, trying hard not to go for killing blows. There were times when he couldn't help it though and ended up silencing a few of the opposing bandits permanently with a well-placed kunai. The young genin and his clones paved a path through the horde of enemies, straight to the horrified Gato. And Zabuza showed no hesitance in taking advantage of said path to reach his target. The last thing the short pudgy man would see would be a demon as it descended upon him with the ferocity of a bloodthirsty beast.

Kushina was glad her daughter wasn't awake to see this. She looked over to find Haku crying next to her. The woman felt sorry for the boy as she watched Zabuza fall to his knees after ripping the corrupted businessman apart. The man appeared to stare up at the clear blue sky one last time before he fell forwards, his life finally coming to an end. Her eyes moved over to see her son holding her up, making sure that she didn't collapse due to exhaustion. She smiled, glad that he'd arrived when he did. Without him, they may not have made it out of the ordeal as well-off as they did. It wouldn't be until a few minutes later that the bandits would retreat after being thoroughly beaten by Naruto and his army of clones. The few that were brave enough to stick around would turn tail and run when they were faced by the villagers who had come to the bridge to help, using whatever they could as weapons.

In the end, Kushina wasn't sure how she felt about it all. It had been a long time since she'd witnessed the type of slaughter she had today. And it had been a long time since she'd felt the kind of stress she had on this trip. But, through it all, she was glad that she'd managed to get through the awful mission with all the members of her team alive. No, she'd managed to get through the mission with all the members of her family alive.

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 **Finally done! You guys have no idea how tired I am! But my stupid conscience keeps me trying to update on time. Anyways, on to clearing up a few things that I think people will have questions about in this chapter.**

 **Kushina's _Accursed Deity_ is in essence like the cursed seal. But it differs in the way that it burns through chakra extremely quickly, but in return boosts the users speed and strength to insane levels. We're talking about a similar boost to the Eight Gates, but only like the first three...maybe five. Plus, it requires an extremely abundant supply of chakra, as seen by how quickly Kushina runs out of chakra even though she is an Uzumaki with enormous reserves. In no way does it slowly corrupt the user nor does it require a hickey from anyone to be given to someone. The user just has to be extremely proficient with seals.**

 **Secondly, the reason I kept Haku alive. One, I really like the guy. His abilities are cool and would make for intersting combat sequences. Two, I couldn't come up with a better pairing for a certain someone...though you guys can probably guess who it is anyways. And three, I might end up having some humorous scenes regarding his feminine appearance later on.**

 **Next up, Kasumi's mindscape. I thought the design was pretty nice. Sort of just came to me. So...whaddya guys think of that?**

 **Finally, should I let Haku keep Kubikiribōchō? Because I don't really think it would go very well with his style of fighting. If I do end up giving it to him, any ideas what I should give Suigetsu later on?**

 **Honestly, its been a while since I went over the actual series. I've actually forgotten the order of events and arcs from shippuden. I'll probably have to research that. Any help is always appreciated, whether it be spelling corrections or criticism of my writing style. Anyways, as always, thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my newest chapter. Seeya next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I wasn't able to update on time and it's totally my fault. I got a little too lazy and ended up getting swamped by studies and all that stuff. Plus, I had a party to attend and I was too tired afterwards to write on Saturday. So I guess I'm going to be updating twice this week. Maybe...if I can. Sorry again for the late chapter.**

 **As I stated before, the gravity training won't be a big part of the story because it would be too damaging to their bodies in the long run. It was just a method to give them a slight boost in as little time as could be managed. They only had like a week before Zabuza would be healed up afterall. I'm too lazy to go back and change it...though I might do so in the future. Oh, also, I derped when I wrote overhead strike. Messed that up big time. Just take it as you guys want to for now. I'll try reviewing all my previous chapters in the future to edit out any such mistakes and grammatical errors.**

 **One thing I do want from you guys is suggestions on what type of summons I should give the genin of Team 6. I'm not too keen on giving Tatsuo any summons but if I get good enough ideas I might change that line of thought. And as for Naruto and Kasumi, I dunno. Should I give them both the Toads? Or should I give Naruto something else...or maybe Kasumi something else. Feel free to throw anything you can think of at me. I'm open to anything.**

 **So, without further procrastination, I give you the next chapter of The Tale of Team 6!**

 **Disclaimer: I donot own Naruto. That tiny fact hasn't changed in the gap between this chapter and the last one.**

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Chapter 7

Kasumi awoke with a start, darting up with a panicked scream. Her eyes darted around the room she was in as she tried to calm herself. That calmness flew out of the window when her eyes fell upon her black-haired teammate as he sat leaning against the wall. The two stared at eachother for a moment before Kasumi let out another scream, only to be silenced by the impact of a pillow against her face. She tossed the pillow away before staring wide-eyed at her friend.

"Tatsuo! You're a ghost!" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the teen. The boy raised an eyebrow at her words before chuckling to himself. Shaking his head in amusement, the boy looked at the girl with a look that stated 'are you serious?'

"Kasumi," Tatsuo began, deciding to take it slow. "If I'm dead and you can see me, wouldn't that mean that your dead aswell?" The girl took a moment to contemplate the teen's words before letting out another scream, resulting in her receiving another pillow to the face. "Kasumi, neither of us is dead."

The girl stared at her friend for a moment before something seemed to click in her head. "You're alive!" she exclaimed in joy before rocketing towards the teen and engulfing him in a bone-crushing hug. "I was so scared! Don't ever do that again, you big idiot!" The girl didn't seem to notice how her caring action was causing her companion an immense amount of discomfort.

"K-kasumi," Tatsuo muttered, feeling the pain surge through his still sore body from the girl's painfully tight hug. It had only been a few hours since he woke up from his death-like coma. "Get off! That hurts!" the boy exclaimed, trying to push the emotional girl off of him in a comedic fashion. He was saved as the door to the room opened up to reveal Kushina, who'd come to check what the ruckus had been about.

Tatsuo watched with a sense of gratitude as the woman's arrival was enough to get the younger redhead's attention off of him, literally. The two Uzumaki ended up hugging and just exchanging happy words. Tatsuo smiled at the heartwarming scene, it only solidified his belief that he'd done the right thing when he'd pushed the girl out of the way of Haku's attack. That train of thought sparked another question in his mind. He wondered what the girl would think about the ice-using boy coming with them back to Konoha. It would definitely be entertaining to watch.

Several minutes went by before the two Uzumaki women were finished with their pseudo-reunion. Together, the three made their way downstairs where they found Tazuna and his family waiting for them. "You're awake," Tsunami stated with relief. "Thank goodness." Kasumi gave the woman a bright smile, before looking around for someone. "The rest of your team have been worried sick about you..."

The genin waved the elder woman's concern off before returning to looking around the house in search of her target. "Where's big brother?" she questioned, looking up at her mother. The woman chuckled at her daughter's apparent worry about her brother but motioned for the girl to follow her nonetheless. The group of three walked to the entrance of the house before stepping out of the cozy home. Kasumi's eyes widened when they landed on the scene outside. Naruto was fighting with Haku, although it was clear that neither was trying to kill eachother.

The black-haired teen was standing in the middle of the open clearing, surrounded by copies of the blonde Uzumaki. His eyes scanned over the group of opponents before he smirked when one of them rushed at him. Twirling around the darting clone the teen latched onto the boy's outstretched arm before spinning him around and tossing him into another clone that had attempted to assault him from behind. The ice-user crouched low to avoid the spinning kick from another copy of his opponent before smashing his palm into its chest. His attention was directed to the pair of clones rushing him from behind next as he twisted around and flung several needles at the two, being rewarded for his effort by two pops. The teen turned to the only remaining Naruto, his expression calm with a small smile present on his face. "You need to be a bit more strategic with the use of your clones, Naruto-san!" he advised, chuckling at the blonde's furious expression. "You're far too sporadic and organised when working with them."

"Hey, it's pretty hard making up a plan on the spot!" Naruto yelled back, before crossing his arms and looking away with a grunt. His eyes widened, however, when they landed on his sister. "Kasumi!" Naruto exclaimed before running up to his sister, Haku following behind him slowly. "You're up! How're you feeling?" Kasumi smiled at her blonde sibling and nodded to the boy before her eyes darted over to the raven-haired ice-user. The girl's mood changed near instantly as she narrowed her eyes at the boy.

"Haku!" the genin exclaimed, her eyes glaring at the teen. Said teen offered the girl a sheepish smile upon seeing her angry expression as she stormed up to him. He took a nervous step backwards when she let out a low growl before he felt her foot collide with his shin. The boy ended up hopping around like a madman, rubbing his leg feverishly. "That's for knocking me out before!"

"I'm sorry," the teen apologized, bowing infront of the redhead as a way of asking for her forgiveness. He received another kick to his other shin in return, ending up with him bouncing around once more. "I said I was sorry!" he exclaimed, looking at the girl slightly annoyed. What more did she want from him?

"Humph," was the red-haired genin's only response as she crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at the boy. Kushina decided she'd seen enough before patting her daughter on the head to gain the girl's attention.

"Now, now…" the jounin stated, playfully messing up the kunoichi's hair as she explained Haku's situation to the younger redhead. "Don't be so mean. Haku's been through a lot and he'll be coming back to Konoha with us." The teen rose an eyebrow at her mother's words before pouting and sending a mock glare towards the boy, earning a nervous smile from him.

It was at that moment that Kasumi noticed something out of the corner of her eyes. The girls head shifted downwards as her eyes locked onto the fluffy white rabbit sitting near Haku's feet, its beady eyes staring up at her with curiosity. Haku noticed the sparkle in the girl's eyes a moment too late before he found her seemingly vanishing. He jerked around to see the girl behind him, cuddling with his pet rabbit. "You're so cute!" she cooed as she scratched the fluffy creature in between its ears as the animal made itself comfortable within her arms.

Haku stared stunned as the girl seemingly did a complete turn-around, switching from angry and annoyed to a happy and childish curiosity in the span of a few seconds. He felt someone put a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Tatsuo giving him a sympathetic look. "Don't look into it too much," the teen said, patting the other boy on his back. "You'll only hurt your brain if you do." Haku nodded at the boy's words before looking back at the girl playing with the bunny. He couldn't help but smile at the girl's childish behaviour, it seemed like this whole incident did indeed have a silver lining. As long as he'd be able to have a few friends in the leaf, he'd be more than content.

That night found Haku sitting in the grass as he stared at the makeshift grave infront of him. The teen couldn't help but shed a few tears as he read the name on the rough surface of the tombstone. "Zabuza-sama…" the boy mumbled as he traced the man's name on the stone. He heard someone come to stand behind him, doing nothing to react to their presence until he heard them speak.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Tatsuo stated, looking at the stone infront of the teen. "If I'd been stronger…I might have been able to do something." The Uchiha saw the ice-user shake his head in response, turning to give him an appreciative smile.

"You have no reason to be sorry," Haku replied as he wiped the tears from his eyes before leaning back on his arms and gazing up at the star-filled sky. "I'm the one who should be apologizing for what I did to you." The boy looked over to see the genin take a seat next to him.

"If I have no reason to apologize," Tatsuo began, gazing up at the stars aswell. "Then neither do you. We're ninja, it's an occupational hazard." The two teens shared a good laugh at the Uchiha's words before Haku looked back up at the night sky. "Hey, atleast you know that he considered you like a son. You should be happy about that." Haku nodded at his new friend's words, before looking over at the boy with a curious expression.

"How is it?" he asked, earning a raised eyebrow from the other teen. "Having a family, I mean." He was surprised to see the boy look down at his right hand, sorrow filling his eyes. "I'm sorry. It isn't my place to ask."

Tatsuo waved the teen off, choosing to smile at the ground. "You apologize too much," he stated, chuckling at the other boy's rather shocked expression. "No, having a family is nice. They make you feel loved and accepted." The black-haired genin frowned as he remembered something. "Ofcourse, I wouldn't know too much. I've been an orphan since I was around nine years old. But the days I spent with my parents were the happiest of my life..."

Haku frowned before looking back at his master's grave. It still felt odd thinking of the man as his father, simply because he'd developed a habit of referring to him as his master. "I'm sorry for making you rem-" the boy stopped when he felt himself being slapped upside the head.

"Like I said," Tatsuo stated, looking at the teen annoyed. "You apologize too much." Rising to his feet the raven-haired Leaf ninja offered the other boy his hand. "Come on, Kushina-sensei will get worried if we're out for too long." Haku accepted the boy's hand, before being pulled up to his feet. "And don't worry…I'm sure you'll be able to visit him again." Tatsuo finished, motioning towards he grave and earning a nod from the boy. The two then proceeded to leave the small clearing, heading back to Tazuna's house. It seemed like they were on their way to being good friends.

The next three days flew by for the Team of ninja. They'd spent time with the people of wave, doing some light training and helping out with the finishing of the bridge. The end of the week saw most of Team 6 standing at the start of the newly completed bridge. They were being seen off by nearly the entire population of the small town. "Make sure to come back and visit, okay?" Inari said, tears streaming down his cheeks. Naruto gave the boy a grin before ruffling his hair in a playful manner. "I'm not crying!" the small boy retorted upon seeing the blonde's smirk.

"Hey, it's okay to cry…" Naruto stated before smiling at the boy as grabbed him in a one-armed hug. "That is, if you're crying because you're happy." The two smiled widely before chuckling together. Kasumi shook her head at her brother's antics before smiling at him. She was glad she'd been put on a team with him. It had been pretty lonely when she'd been alone for all those years. To her, being able to spend so much time with her brother was a dream come true. Her attention was, however, quickly diverted by the fluffy animal in her arms. She'd been unable to pull herself away from the adorable creature nearly the entire week. It was just far too cute!

Kushina smiled at her children before looking over to see Tsunami approaching her. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done," the woman said bowing to the woman. "But I will thank you nonetheless. Thank you for protecting my family and our home!" Kushina placed her hands on the woman's shoulders before forcing her to stand up straight. The red-haired jounin smiled at the woman before giggling at her slightly confused expression.

"There's no need, Tsunami-san!" she exclaimed before turning to look at her children. "We were all glad we could help. It's part of our duty afterall." She looked over all the happy faces of the villagers and her smile grew brighter. "And if we were able to help so many people regain their lost happiness in the process then that makes it all the more gratifying." The woman's eyes moved over to the village to see Tatsuo and Haku walking towards them, the ice-user's eyes slightly puffy and his cheeks a bit damp. She shook her head sadly, knowing how hard it must have been for the boy to leave this place after all that had happened. Her eye's met Tatsuo's and the boy nodded to her, prompting her to let out a soft sigh before turning to the other two members of her team. "Alright you two, let's get a move on. I want to be able to get back to the village before sundown."

Naruto and Kasumi looked over before nodding at their sensei's words before uttering their final goodbyes to the people of Wave. Tatsuo walked over to Inari before kneeling down next to the boy. "Hey, listen…" he began, getting the child's attention. "I'm sorry about blowing up at you before. I was kind of stressed but it wasn't my place to say what I did…" Inari smiled at the black-haired youth before wrapping him in a hug. Tatsuo was slightly stunned but smiled anyways, patting the boy's back before getting back to his feet.

The four members of Team 6, along with their new travelling companion, waved goodbye to the people of Wave as they began their journey back to Konoha. It was only when they were out of sight that Inari asked a question that had slipped everyone's mind. "Hey, what're we going to name the bridge?"

Tazuna let out a hearty laugh before pointing towards himself with his thumb in a confident manner. "Why, 'The Great Tazuna Bridge' ofcourse!" he exclaimed, only to recoil at the large amount of 'boos' he received in return.

Tsunami placed a hand on her chin before smiling. "How about, 'The Bridge of the Leaf'?" she suggested, receiving several loud cheers from the crowd. "In honor of the ninja who saved us from our suffering." Hearing the consent of everyone present, Tazuna had no choice but to accept. But to be honest, it wasn't like he didn't like the idea either. The man smiled before exclaiming the name of the new bridge loudly, his words echoed by the crowd behind him. It would be from this day onwards that the newly made bridge would be referred to as 'The Bridge of the Leaf.'

It was some time after noon when Team 6, along with Haku, entered the Gates of the Hidden Leaf village, their time to travel back drastically decreased now that they no longer had to travel at a civilian pace. The journey back had been uneventful. It had actually been quite boring after all that had happened in the past few weeks. Naruto let out a loud cheer upon reentering the village, the rest of the Leaf ninja sharing the boy's feelings. Haku looked around nervously, not being in such a large village for a long time.

Kushina turned to the boy, smiling at him comfortingly. "No need to be so jumpy, Haku-chan," the woman stated, her words doing very little to help calm the young teen's nerves. "For now, you'll have to come with me to the Hokage's office so we can get this whole mess sorted out. I'll see if I can't get you a nice place to live and status as a Konoha shinobi." Haku nodded to the woman before she turned around to face her students.

"You three are dismissed for now," the jounin said to the three genin. "You may do as you please, but I'd suggest getting some rest." She turned to her daughter and sighed. "Kasumi-chan, you'll have to return Haru now." The young redhead's eyes widened comically befoe she sent a pleading look towards her mother, holding onto the bunny in her arms tightly. Seeing the jounin's undaunted expression, the girl sighed before gently handing the cuddly rabbit back to its owner. "I'm sure Haku-chan will let you visit him when he's settled, Kasumi-chan. " The girl looked over to see Haku nodding at her with a smile before she too nodded in resignation.

"Well, if that's all then you three may leave," Kushina stated. The woman looked over to Tatsuo when the boy lifted his hand up lazily. "What is it, Tatsuo-kun?"

"I'd like to come with you to see Hokage-sama," the teen stated, getting a raised eyebrow from his captain. "I wouldn't mind letting Haku live with me at my place. There's plenty of room…" Kushina thought about the offer for a few moments before nodding to the boy's request. She turned to her two children, only to find the spots they'd occupied seconds ago empty. The woman shook her head in amusement before motioning for the remaining two teens to follow her as she began walking towards the Hokage tower.

Naruto and Kasumi exited Ichiraku's Ramen an hour later, having consumed several bowls of ramen each. The two walked through the village at a leisurely pace, simply enjoying being back in the familiar surroundings. It helped that they'd eaten a fair amount of ramen to make up for the lack of it in Wave. The two didn't really talk much, instead just enjoying the other's company in silence. Something that most would consider impossible for the pair.

The two eventually found themselves wandering into a training field where they encountered another team of genin. "Sakura-chan! Bastard! What's up?!" Naruto exclaimed, earning a glare from the pink-haired kunoichi known as Sakura and a grunt from the black-haired teen that was Sasuke. The blonde's eyes wandered over to the third member of their team, taking note of the boy's features and attire. The teen had short black hair, pale skin and dark eyes. Along with his black shirt he wore a short grey jacket with red straps and black pants. On is back was, what looked like, a tanto in its sheathe. He carried a scroll on his hip and a satchel on his lower back. The most unique parts of his attire were the gloves he wore that left his thumbs and index fingers exposed. "And you must be…"

"Sai," the boy stated with an unusual smile present on his face that sent a chill down Naruto's spine. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah…" Naruto replied, before slowly taking a step away from the creepy boy and then turning to his two former classmates. "So, how've you guys been?" he questioned, earning another grunt from Sasuke and a roll of the eyes from Sakura.

"We've been fine, Naruto…" Sakura stated, before leaning to her right to look at the red-haired girl that had accompanied the blonde boy. "And who's this?" she questioned, earning a small 'eep' from Kasumi and a loud 'oh' from Naruto. The pink-haired kunoichi had never actually been introduced to Naruto's sister on the day of team assignments. Infact, neither had Sasuke.

"Right, I never introduced you guys to eachother!" the blonde Uzumaki exclaimed before pulling his sister forward and pointing at her. "This is Kasumi Uzumaki! My sister!" His words caused Sakura's jaw to drop open and even Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that little nugget of information. "Kasumi, this is Sakura-chan and that's Sasuke…the bastard." Naruto explained, pointing to the two genin respectively as he said their names.

"I thought she was just someone from your clan or something!" Sakura shouted in surprise, choosing to ignore the blonde's insult towards her crush for the moment. "I didn't know she was your sister!"

"Well, yeah…" Naruto answered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. The teen turned towards Sasuke before smirking at the Uchiha heir. "Hey Bastard! You gotten any better since our last fight?!" the blonde taunted, earning a condescending smirk from the black-haired youth.

"Why would I need to get better?" he replied, grinning at the underlying challenge in the whiskered boy's statement. "Last I remember I won our previous fight…"

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, pushing his sleeve up and marching over to his rival. "Is your memory shoddy or something? I distinctly remember me kicking your sorry ass!" The two glared at eachother as sparks began to fly between their eyes.

Sakura stood next to Kasumi, letting out a sigh at seeing the two at it again. "Here we go again…" the pink-haired genin mumbled, earning a confused look from the redhead next to her. "Oh, right. Naruto and Sasuke-kun have an ongoing rivalry between them. They used to fight all the time back in the academy. Sasuke-kun was always ahead due to his academic results but the two were pretty evenly matched in physical skill, even if I don't want to believe it."

"So, who do you think is stronger?" questioned Kasumi as she looked over to the two boys as they glared daggers at eachother, Sai having stepped back to see how things would turn out. "I mean, who won in their last fight?"

"Hard to say," Sakura stated as she shook her head. "Sasuke-kun has gotten tons stronger since we graduated from the academy. But I'm certain Naruto has aswell. Last time, they'd both ended up knocking eachother out. I don't even know how they managed to pull that off…" The two suddenly perked up when the two rivals leapt back, a fire burning in their eyes.

"Alright then, Bastard!" Naruto exclaimed as he formed a single handseal. "Prepare to get your ass whooped!" A pair of clones popped into existence on either side of the boy, earining raised eyebrows from all three members of Team 7.

"Bring it, Loser!" Sasuke retorted as his eyes morphed into the sharingan, a single black tomoe spinning in each red orb. And so the fight began. Naruto rushed towards the Uchiha, his clones following close behind him. The original stopped a few steps away from his opponent, choosing instead to leap up over the boy. His two clones continued on their paths however, prompting Sasuke to tense his body in preparation to retaliate.

The first copy of the blonde went for a straight jab, which the Uchiha dodged by ducking under the speeding punch. He couldn't capitalize on the clone however as he was forced to roll out of the way of a few speeding kunai from behind him, courtesy of the original Naruto. Climbing onto his feet, the boy's eyes focused onto the approaching pair of clones before he smirked and rushed at them, with a surprising amount of speed.

The first clone came to an abrupt halt as the other leapt over the speeding member of Team 7. The clone knocked a punch from the Uchiha to the side, only to receive a swift kick to the side of his face that caused him to go out with a pop. Sasuke turned around, as he completed his spinning kick, to see the other clone a few steps away from him and fished out a kunai, twirling the weapon in his hand before he swung the weapon at the approaching blonde, dispersing the unprepared clone in a cloud of white smoke. His eyes darted over to the right where he just barely managed to catch the last handseal Naruto made before he was flung backwards by the harsh wind the boy produced.

Crashing into a tree, the black-haired genin looked up immediately in order to not let his opponent take advantage of his lack of attention. His eyes narrowed when he saw three more clones closing in on him. The boy smirked before running through a few handseals and breathing in deeply. " **Fire Style: Great Fireball!** " The teen exclaimed, launching a massive ball of flames that annihilated the clones before they were able to react.

Looking up, Sasuke's eyes widened before he rolled out of the way as Naruto smashed his heel into the ground where he'd been mere moments ago. The blonde spun around and caught a spinning kick from the Uchiha before letting out a loud grunt as he spun around, flinging the black-haired boy through the air. His opponent flipped midflight before landing in a crouch, skidding back a little distance and glaring at the blonde ninja.

"You've gotten better, Loser…" Sasuke commented as he stood up and scanned the teen for any hints of movement.

"That's my line, Bastard!" Naruto answered back as he crossed his arms and glared at the boy's feet, making sure not to take the risk of looking into his eyes. He wasn't sure if his rival was skilled enough with the sharingan to cast genjutsus simply via eye contact yet but he wasn't going to take any chances.

The two boys stood still for another few seconds before darting towards eachother at the same time. They met in the middle in a flurry of limbs. Naruto grabbed his opponent's wrist to stop a quick punch and stopped the following knee that would have slammed into his gut. Pushing the boy's leg out of the way he grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt before using it and the boy's arm as leverage to flip him over and slam him into the ground.

To the whiskered-youth's surprise, his maneuver failed as the Uchiha managed to stop his fall by landing on his feet and proceeded to pull the blonde forward, smashing his other fist into the side of the jinchuriki's face. Naruto stumbled to the side, turning around just in time to avoid a spinning kick by backing up a bit. The blonde's hands came up to form his signature handseal before he was surrounded by a dozen clones, to the shock of his opponent.

The copies of the blonde sped towards the Uchiha, before they were forced to leap out of the way to avoid another ball of fire. Naruto himself moved out of the path of the destructive jutsu and looked back to see Sasuke running towards him, ignoring his clones completely. One of the blonde copies tried tackling the boy, only to end up with an elbow buried in its gut. The poor blonde replica managed to buy enough time, however, for the rest of the clones to converge on their target.

Sasuke growled as his eyes swept over the copies of his blonde rival before he smirked, pulling out two kunai that he gripped tightly in both hands. A moment passed before the clones, as one, let out a loud battle cry and began their assault. His sharingan spinning wildly, Sasuke was just about able to keep up with the flurry of motion.

He sidestepped the first clone that had attempted to tackle him, dispersing it by tripping the copy and making it crash into the ground. The next two clones attacked from either side, prompting the genin of Team 7 to duck under their initial strikes before twirling around and slicing through them with his kunai. Another clone attempted to attack him from behind, only to end up receiving a kick that sent it up into the air where it dispersed in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke ignored his fatigue and rolled to the side in order to avoid another clone of his rival before being struck from behind by a hard kick that sent him stumbling forwards. He took it in stride, twisting around and flinging one of his kunai and ending the life of another clone before spinning back around and stabbing another clone in the shoulder. The teen glared at the few remaining blondes before tensing up as he saw one rushing at him with a kunai in hand. He didn't back down however, choosing to meet the blonde head on. It was at this very moment that he found his hand caught in a tight grip, along with the Naruto infront of him.

"Now, now…" he heard, prompting him to look up into the single lazy eye of his jounin instructor. "No need for such violence." The man was tall and had spiky silver hair along with grey eyes. The lower half of his face was covered by a mask, along with his headband that covered his left eye. He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket along with fingerless gloves that had metal plates on the back. The rest of his attire consisted of blue pants and a long-sleeved shirt of the same colour, aswell as shinobi sandals. "I'm sure you two could find other ways to resolve your conflicts."

"Hey! Don't get in my way, Scarecrow!" Naruto exclaimed, pouting at the jounin as he pulled his hand free from the man's grasp. The boy knew the fight was over so he let his clones disperse in puffs of smoke.

"How cruel, Naruto…" the man stated as he ruffled the blonde's hair, much to the boy's annoyance. "But you don't really have a say in the matter do you? Afterall, Sasuke is a member of my team isn't he?" Naruto glared at the man before letting out an annoyed 'huff' and proceeding to walk off. "Oh, before you go. I met your sensei on my way here from the Hokage's office. She said if I were to find you then I should tell you that you would have the next couple of days off. So don't show up for training until she gives you the order to, okay?"

Naruto waved at the man as he continued walking, his sister running after him as the two left the field. It wasn't long after the two left that Kakashi looked over at his team. They'd returned to acting like they did every day. Sasuke was being his usual silent self, Sakura was fawning over the Uchiha heir and Sai…was being creepy as always. Kakashi sighed, as he pulled out his book once more. Sometimes he wished he hadn't passed this team. It got really repetitive teaching them sometimes. "Hey, atleast I managed to nab us a C-rank mission." The man relished in his ability to gain a reaction from anyone. Even his boring students.

The two siblings spent most of the evening together, simply walking through the village and talking about random things. It wasn't until a few hours had passed that Naruto decided to head up to the monument, which held the faces of all the Hokages of the Hidden Leaf Village. The sun bordered on the edge of the horizon as the whiskered jinchuriki gazed over the village from atop his father's head on the Hokage monument. It brought him a sense of peace to look over the entire village from this point. "Are you alright, Big Brother?" questioned Kasumi as she gazed at the boy from his right. Naruto chuckled before breaking out into full blown laughter. He stopped before looking at the girl and nodding his head.

"It's been a while since I've been up here…" he muttered as he looked up at the sky that was painted a bright orange by the setting sun. "I used to come up here all the time when I was still in the Academy." He looked over at his sister and smiled at her. "I used to wonder what Dad would think of me and how I'd turned out." The boy looked down at his feet and smiled. "I even ended up painting the monument once as a prank. But I didn't disrespect any of the previous Hokage's in doing so." He looked over to his sister and patted her on the back. "They were all great people afterall!"

Kasumi looked at her brother as he smiled up at the sky before he turned around and began walking away. She followed after him, falling into step behind him as the two made their way down the monument. The girl couldn't help but notice how the boy seemed slightly subdued. She wanted to ask him why that was the case but decided if he wanted to talk about it he'd do so at his own leisure. They walked in a comfortable silence until they reached the bottom of the monument where they decided to go their separate ways. It was getting late and their mother wouldn't appreciate them staying out for so long after they'd just gotten back. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow, Kasumi!" Naruto exclaimed as he began walking towards the Uchiha district, waving to his sister as he did. The smiled and waved back at him, before heading home aswell.

Naruto dragged himself to the front door of the house he shared with Tatsuo. He was tired after today and the exhaustion had finally caught up with him. He briefly wondered what had happened with the boy and Haku at the Old man's office but decided to think about it later. Opening the door, he entered with a loud exclamation of 'I'm back!' Hearing the voice of Tatsuo reply that he was in the living room, Naruto assumed he'd gotten back from the mission debriefing. Removing his sandals the teen decided to go see if there was anything to eat. It was only when he entered the living room, and saw Haku there, that he stopped. "Welcome home, Naruto-san!" the boy greeted with a smile, tilting his head slightly as he gazed upon Naruto's confused visage. A few moments passed as the blonde and ice-user stared at eachother. "I'll be living with you and Tatsuo-san for the time being! I hope you don't mind..." It wasn't that he'd mind. Naruto had simply been through quite a bit on the whole trip to Wave. This surprise was just enough to push the boy over the edge. And then, doing a very good impression of Hinata, Naruto fainted. It seemed like the events of the past week had finally gotten to him.

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 **Once again, sorry about the late update. I'll try updating again on the upcoming weekend. Don't hold me to that though. Also, does this chapter seem alright? Like, I kinda feel like it's fragmented. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed it. It wasn't very action-packed. Just a mild cooldown after the end of the whole Zabuza thing. We've officially finished the Wave arc now. Next chapter, I'm not really sure what to do. Do you guys think I should head on into the Chunin Exams or should I do another mission. This one will probably be a joint mission with one of the other teams.**

 **It might end up taking a bit longer too because I don't really have a mission planned, but I could definitely come up with something. It'd also help expand on Team 6's relationships with one of the other teams. I dunno really. Besides that, not much else to say. Studies keep me pretty busy so I don't get too much time to write. Hope you guys can understand that...**

 **Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this chapter. I'll try to update on time in the future. Hopefully, I can do so this weekend aswell. That being said...I'll seeya next time! Nya!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! I'm back! Sorry for the late update but like I said in the last chapter I didn't really have a plan for another mission so it took me some time to come up with and flesh out an interesting idea. Plus, it's tough writing with schoolwork and assignments. That being said, I'll try updating every week if I can. If not then every other week, I guess. Now, I'd like to thank everyone whose read this story, favorited, followed and reviewed. Means the world to me to know that you guys enjoy my writing.**

 **Onto the reviews and questions! Yes, I will not be moving directly to the Chunin Exams. This chapter will be one of two that will comprise of another mission. The Chunin Exams will most probably come after this though.**

 **Next up is Tatsuo. The reasons why I used him instead of Sasuke are pretty simple. One, he and Sasuke have different personalities. They've had different experiences and so have different attitudes. That being said, they also have different fighting styles which will change the way they react in certain situations. One other reason I chose to create Tatsuo was because I do intend to have Sasuke leave the Leaf as he does in canon. I wouldn't be able to do that if he'd been in Tatsuo's position.**

 **Two, the reason I had Tatsuo copy the Shadow Clone Jutsu is simple. It's useful. Naruto and Tatsuo are best friends. And living in a world full of ninja you'd want to have every asset you can to survive. They understand that and hence Naruto allowed Tatsuo to copy the technique. I think I sort of stated that in the second chapter, didn't I? Besides, there's no way that Tatsuo can utilize the technique to the extent Naruto or Kasumi can. The most he can do is make up to three of four clones.**

 **Three, in regards to Naruto's little skirmish with Sasuke. Yes, I am aware of how bad of a teacher Kakashi can be but I want him to be atleast a bit more competent in this story. You must also remember that, training wise, Kakashi did focus a bit more on Sasuke in the first place. Plus, Naruto wasn't at all going all out. Sasuke had the sharingan to help him out but Naruto wasn't even using his clones to their full extent. As of now though, Naruto is indeed stronger than Sasuke.**

 **Finally, as suggested by narufemkyuufan (Love that pairing too btw), a sloth contract sounds pretty interesting. I doubt anyone has really done something like that before so it'd definitely be a first. Overall, I'll think about it. But I do want contracts for Naruto and Kasumi to be sort of combat-based, atleast.**

 **Fun Fact: This story originated as a plot bunny that started off when I began reading Naruto neglect fics. It eventually morphed into this monstrosity and stuck with me for an entire year before I decided to just write it down for the sake of my sanity. So...yeah!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto...(Imagine me crying in a corner here, okay?)**

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Chapter 8

Naruto walked down the stairs whilst rubbing his eyes. The blonde teen let out a loud yawn before entering the kitchen. "Haku?" the boy questioned upon seeing the black-haired teen seated at the table with Kasumi sitting across from him and petting Haru. The blonde shook his head at his sister's actions but smiled nonetheless. It seemed the girl had become quite attached to the little white rabbit. His eyes scanned the room and , upon noticing the absence of a certain Uchiha, narrowed. "Where's Tatsuo?"

"Tatsuo-san said he was going out for a walk," Haku replied, motioning for his blonde friend to take a seat. Complying, Naruto sat down and let out a loud yawn, before smiling when Haku placed a cup of tea down infront of him. "You seem awfully tired…"

Naruto shrugged before taking a slow sip from his cup. He had no real reason to be tired. But they had the day off and he could be awfully lazy at times. The past week had been interesting though. The Hokage had given Haku a position in the hospital, where the teen could learn medical techniques and other such skills, at the boy's request. Naruto was sure, however, that the boy was being kept under watch.

Team 6 had spent the past week doing D-rank missions once more, after their few days of recovery from the events at Wave. It had helped to calm their nerves and help them relax a bit. Haku had, as requested by Tatsuo, been allowed to live with them. The boy had made it a personal duty to help with the work around the household, whether it be cooking or cleaning. He'd learned quite a bit on his travels with Zabuza it seemed.

Other than that, things had been pretty normal for the team of genin. Well, as normal as things could get for ninja. Team 6 had received a fitting pay for completing their C-rank mission, which had been bumped up to an A-rank, aswell as having that recorded in their files. Zabuza's sword had also been stored in the vault at the Hokage tower. "Eh, having nothing to do is boring," Naruto answered, taking another sip from his cup. "I decided to sleep longer to waste some time. Don't know how Tatsuo can be so lazy." At that moment, there was a knock on the front door. "Wonder who that is?" Naruto questioned out loud before standing up and walking towards the source of the noise.

Upon opening it the boy raised an eyebrow upon seeing his old sensei. "Iruka-sensei?" the blonde questioned upon seeing the brown-haired chunin. "What're you doing here?"

"Ah, I was sent by Hokage-sama," the man replied. "You've been assigned a mission along with Team 10. You are to meet Kushina-san at the gates by five in the evening."

"Wait, why so late?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion. Iruka frowned before patting his student on the shoulder.

"Kushina-san will explain the circumstances of the mission once you meet her," the man stated, before smiling and ruffling the Uzumaki's messy hair. "Anyways, how've you been?" The man received a bright smile from the genin before being dragged into the house so that the boy could tell him all about their last C-rank and everything that had occurred during it.

Meanwhile, Tatsuo was seated under a tree with his eyes focused on the board in between him and the black-haired teen infront of him. "You know, Tatsuo…" Choji began, looking back and forth between the black-haired youth and his teammate. "You really don't have to keep playing against Shikamaru like this…" Tatsuo waved his big-boned friend's concerns off before moving a single piece across the board.

"Good move," Shikamaru complimented his opponent as he rubbed his chin. "By the way, I heard you had a pretty messy C-rank a while back." The boy moved another piece, smirking when he saw Tatsuo bite his lower lip. "What was all that about?"

"Yeah," the teen replied, not taking his eyes off the board infront of him. "Nasty stuff. But things turned out for the best in the end…" Scratching his head the teen let out a sigh. "How are you so good at this?" his words earned him a chuckle from his opponent. The boy moved another piece before shaking his head in exasperation.

"Well, I'm glad things ended up how they did," the lazy Nara stated before smiling and moving one final piece. "That's game!" Tatsuo let out a sigh before leaning back against the tree. "Good match…" Shikamaru nodded to the boy and packed up his shogi board.

Tatsuo lifted himself off the ground before stretching his arms. "Man, nearly three years of playing against you and I still haven't beaten you even once." The boy's words sparked a chuckle from his chubby friend.

"Don't beat yourself over it, Tatsuo!" Choji stated, munching on a few chips before continuing. "Shikamaru's really good at this type of stuff." The boy was about to say something else but was interrupted by a loud shout of joy. Tatsuo turned around just in time to be knocked back as a girl with pale-blonde hair tackled him.

"Tatsuo-kun!" the girl shouted as she hugged the boy tightly. "What're you doing here?" Tatsuo sighed and shook his head before looking down at the blonde's head.

"It's nice to see you too, Ino." The girl's grip around his chest tightened as she snuggled into his chest. Tatsuo rose an eyebrow before looking over to see Shikamaru pretending to be asleep and Choji stuffing his face with chips. "What exactly are you doing?"

Letting go of the, in her opinion, gorgeous teen, Ino stepped back with a pout on her face and her hands on her hips. "What?!" she questioned in mock annoyance. "I haven't seen you for almost an entire month and I can't give you a friendly hug?"

Tatsuo stared at the girl for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head in amusement. "Are you still trying to 'seduce me'?" the boy questioned, earning a blush from the girl before she looked away with a nervous smile. "I thought you were in 'love' with Sasuke?" He couldn't help tease the girl. She'd done so to him plenty of times in the past. And he had to admit, it was kind of fun.

"Hey, I am too in love with Sasuke-kun!" the purple-wearing girl rebuked before smiling innocently and walking closer to the Uchiha boy. "But that doesn't mean I'm not open to trying new things…" she stated, placing a gentle hand against Tatsuo's chest and leaning closer against him. "So, how's about it, Tatsuo-kun?"

Chuckling at his friend's actions, Tatsuo poked her in the forehead and pushed her a few steps back, ignoring her shout of protest. "Did you just call me a 'thing'?" the boy questioned, an amused smile present on his face. He sighed and shook his head upon seeing the blonde's bashful expression. "And I thought I already told you, you aren't my type."

"Well what exactly do you look for in a girl then, Mr. You're-not-my-type?!" Ino asked, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting at her once–classmate.

"Not sure…I'd prefer someone a bit more laid back though," Tatsuo lazily commented, chuckling at the girl's shocked expression. "But I'm sure you'd be great for Sasuke. You'd probably get him out of that funk he's always in." The three boys chuckled at the Uchiha's joke, while Ino pouted and smacked Tatsuo in the arm.

"This is the thanks I get for coming all the way out here to find you guys!" the platinum-blonde exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air in exasperation. Seeing the confused looks on the three boys' faces the girl decided to explain. "A chunin visited me at my house an hour ago. He said we had a combined mission with Team 6 and we're supposed to meet at the gates around five."

"Hm, first time I've heard about it…" Tatsuo muttered, before shrugging and looking up into the sky. "Whatever, I guess I could use a bit of a change in pace." The boy sweatdropped when he found himself being dragged away, courtesy of a purple-wearing girl, to have lunch with her.

The sun shone dimly as the clouds rolled by in the sky. Naruto walked up to the main gate with Tatsuo by his side. The blonde boy was jumpy, as was quite clear by the bounce he had in his step. Tatsuo looked bored, as he did quite often. "What do you think the mission is going to be?" questioned the blonde Uzumaki, his arms crossed behind his head as he looked over to his dull teammate. He received a casual shrug from his friend and let out an exasperated sigh. "Can you atleast pretend to be excited?" His question earned him a shake of the head and a lazy smirk. "You're no fun…"

"Naruto-kun!" Kushina exclaimed when she saw her son. "Tatsuo-kun! I hope you're all well-rested." The woman smiled upon seeing the two boys on her team nod. She turned around and made her way back over to the rest of their group, which consisted of Kasumi and Team 10.

"Good to see you, kid!" greeted Asuma Sarutobi. The man was tall with brown eyes and short black spiky hair. He also had a beard and olive skin. His attire was comprised of the usual Konoha shinobi uniform with the sleeves being rolled up half way. He also wore a jounin vest and his forehead protector on his forehead. Around his waist was his most unique feature. A sash that had the kanji for 'Fire' on it. Naruto smirked and offered the man a wave before looking over to his fellow genin.

"How's it been, Naruto?" questioned Choji, patting his long-time friend on the back. "It's been a while since we've met."

"Pretty good, Choji…" Naruto exclaimed, playfully punching his chubby friend on the arm. "What about you guys? What've you all been up to?"

"Troublesome missions…" mumbled Shikamaru, earning a chuckle from Tatsuo at the lazy boy's attitude.

"And what about you, Ino-chan?" Naruto continued, grabbing the girl in a one armed hug. "How've you been?"

"Fine, Naruto..." the girl stated, rolling her eyes at the blonde's antics. It seemed like he was still as big a flirt as he'd been in the academy. She wasn't one to talk though, being as flirtatious as she was herself.

"Well then," Kushina interrupted. "Now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way. I think we should be off." Nodding to the woman's words the rest of the ninja took off past the gates and into the trees.

"Alright! Listen up!" Asuma shouted out as the eight ninja leapt from one tree to the next. "The Hokage specifically requested us for this mission. Here's what we're going to have to do!"

… _ **Flashback…**_

" _I need you two to lead a mission for me," Hiruzen said, sifting through a few files on his desk. "There's been a group of bandits terrorizing a small village near the border. I need you two to lead your teams and see to it that they're taken care of."_

" _Shouldn't that be left up to some chunin?" questioned Asuma, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at his father. "I mean, do you think it's a good idea to send in genin?"_

" _As you know, the Chunin Exams are fast approaching…" the Hokage explained, earning a nod from both the jounin. "And so I currently have all the available chunin and jounin working on preparing for them. I'd wait until some of the higher ranking ninja are available but I fear that the bandits will cause more damage in that time."_

" _Why our teams then?" questioned Kushina. "Surely there are teams with more experience."_

" _True, but I would like to see how well the new graduates have come along," the aged leader stated. Handing his son a scroll with the details of the mission within. "And in regards to why your teams…Teams 6 and 10 have had the most field experience and have successfully completed C-ranked or higher missions."_

" _When do you want us to depart, Hokage-same?" Kushina asked, wondering if it'd be wise to take her team out of the village so soon after the whole Wave incident._

" _As soon as you can," the man replied. "I'd suggest leaving somewhere around late noon. I would also like to ask you two to let your teams handle most of the mission."_

" _What do you mean, dad?" asked Asuma, taking a drag from the cigarette in his mouth._

" _You may help if you deem it necessary, but I would like to see how well your students can perform in and handle such a mission. Killing is not necessary but your main priority is to rescue anyone the bandits may have kidnapped from the village they've raided."_

 _Both jounin nodded in understanding and exited the office. "We should meet at the gates around five…" Asuma stated, stretching his arms before looking over to his fellow sensei. "Give the kids some time to get ready and all that." Kushina nodded at the man's words before the two went their separate ways._

… _ **Flashback End…**_

"Understood?" questioned Kushina once Asuma had finished explaining the details and parameters of the mission. Receiving a nod from all the genin she smiled before speeding up, the younger ninja racing after her to keep up.

"Hey Tatsuo!" Naruto called, hopping from branch to branch. His black-haired teammate turned to look at the blonde, a bored expression plastered across his face. "How's that genjutsu you've been working on going?"

Giving his teammate a thumbs-up Tatsuo turned to look over the rest of the people he'd be working with on this mission. It would definitely be exciting. The boy sighed. He hated exciting.

The sun had sunk a few hours ago. Team 6 and 10 sat crouched high up in the trees. Below them, in the large clearing, was a sizeable camp. A fire burned in the center, various tents and carts surrounding it. A few people were visible near the flames, laughing and talking rather loudly. A few of the bandits were walking around the camp, probably on watch for intruders.

"So, what do you guys think?" questioned Asuma, Kushina leaning against the trunk of a tree across from him. "Think you can handle that?"

"Depends," Shikamaru replied, his gaze calculated as he looked over the camp and its occupants. "I can't see everyone so I can't come up with a solid plan."

"What do you suggest then, Shikamaru?" questioned Kasumi, earning a low 'hum' from the boy. "Come on, you're really smart right?" The pineapple-headed boy sent an annoyed glare at the girl, earning a sheepish smile from the redhead.

"I'm going to need someone to go in there and check things out for me…" the teen retorted, his eyes roving over the occupied clearing. "Someone who's good at being sneaky…"

"Me and Tatsuo are good at that…" Naruto suggested, earning an annoyed glare from his lazy friend for volunteering him. "We could do it…"

"So could I," Ino stated, raising her arm to gain everyone's attention. "With my **Mind Transfer Jutsu**. I'd just need someone to watch my body for a bit."

Shikamaru thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright then, Ino will take the outer edge. I don't want her going in completely defenseless in a body she isn't used to fighting in." Earning a nod from the blonde girl the boy turned to Tatsuo and Naruto. "I'm going to need you two to work your way into the camp and see if you can find any hostages. Try not to make too much of a commotion while you're there, alright?"

"Try to keep out of trouble, you three…" Kushina warned, worry clear in her eyes. She knew that the genin were quite capable but she couldn't keep herself from fretting over their safety. "We'll be keeping an eye on you just in case. But we won't jump in unless absolutely necessary, got it?" She received a nod from all the kids before they silently made their way to the forest floor.

"Alright, first things first…" Shikamaru began, gaining everyone's attention. "We need to get Ino a target." His words earned him a nod from the other genin before they began they're plan. Tatsuo sighed before pulling the hood of his jacket over his head. "It'd be better if we were able to knock the target out. It'd make it easier for Ino to maintain the technique." Tatsuo nodded before moving out with Kasumi.

The two swiftly made their way over to the edge of the campsite. Taking refuge behind a stray cart the two looked over at eachother before nodding. Kasumi peered out from behind the cart before bumping Tatsuo's shoulder with her fist once. The black-haired teen smiled before reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out a small paper ball. "You ready?" he questioned with a low voice, earning a nod from his red-haired teammate. The boy tossed the small ball out infront of them, waiting for a moment before he heard it explode with a high-pitched ringing sound.

Kasumi poked her head out from behind the cart once more and smirked when she saw the bandit who'd been sitting near the edge of the camp look around before he began moving over towards their position. "It worked," she whispered back to the boy beside her before forming a single handseal. "On your mark…"

Tatsuo nodded to the girl before waiting silently as he heard the bandit get closer to the origin of the sound, the man's heavy steps easily audible in the silent night. He took a deep breath before elbowing Kasumi. The man stepped around the cart right as a clone of the girl formed before he was jumped by the three. Kasumi and her clone latched onto his arms, his spear falling silently to the ground. The man barely had time to utter a short grunt of surprise before he found himself looking into the spinning red eyes of Tatsuo. His body tensed up for but a moment before he slumped forward in a peaceful slumber.

Tatsuo nodded to his teammate before the three made their way back to the cover of the forest, joining back up with the rest of the genin. "Good job…" Shikamaru complimented the two genin before stepping aside as Ino walked forward. "You're up, Ino." The purple-wearing kunoichi nodded before forming a single handseal with her thumbs and forefingers touching.

" **Mind Transfer Jutsu!** " she whispered, before she collapsed. Her body was caught by Choji before it hit the ground. The chubby genin lay her down on the ground gently before looking over to see the motionless bandit begin to move. The brown-haired man slowly opened his eyes, before blinking several times.

"You good, Ino?" questioned Shikamaru as he saw the bandit sit up and move his arms around as if testing them. "How're you feeling?"

"Slow…" the bandit stated, his voice low and gruff. "But I think I'm good for the most part. Let's get going already." The man rose to his feet, stumbling slightly before standing up straight. Naruto handed the possessed bandit his spear, the man taking it and moving it around experimentally.

"Alright then," the lazy genius of Team 10 began, pulling out a pair of headsets. "Tatsuo and Naruto. You two are going to be checking out the central areas of the camp. So I want you two to take these. I'll keep you informed on any stray bandits that get too close." The Nara handed the devices over to the two boys before turning towards Ino. "Ino, you're going to be going around the outside. See if you can't find something interesting."

The three infiltrators nodded to their current leader and left. "Choji and Kasumi, I need you to stay here and look after Ino's body," Shikamaru ordered, his long-time friend nodding to him along with the red-haired Uzumaki. The pineapple-headed boy then ran up one of the tall trees to get a better view of the camp so as to be able to help the other three genin who would be running around trying to find any hostages.

Naruto snuck silently into the enemy camp, taking great care to be aware of his surroundings. He inwardly chuckled when he realized this was a lot like that time he'd snuck into the ANBU headquarters. Well, he'd been able to run around the place for quite a bit before he'd been caught. It seemed like he was just good at sneaking around and not getting caught. The boy hid around one of the corners as he heard a couple of people talking. His headset buzzed to life as Shikamaru's voice spoke into his ear.

"You've got three bandits around that corner so you don't want to go that way…" the blonde teen nodded at the lazy boy's words before looking around. "Try cutting through one of the larger tents." The blonde Uzumaki turned around and ran around the other way before crouching outside one of the bigger tents. He looked around cautiously, hearing the voices of a few bandits fast approaching. Peeking inside revealed an empty tent with a few futons strewn about. "Two hostiles heading your way, get in there!"

Following his leader's advice the boy entered the tent and waited for the bandits to walk by. To his surprise however, he heard Shikamaru's voice in his ear once more. "They're coming back, probably to the tent you're in." The blonde's eyes widened before he looked around for a way out. "Hide and wait for a chance to get out of there. You don't want to make too much of a ruckus."

The two bandits walked into the tent, talking in a very drunken manner. It looked like they were completely wasted. Upon entry one of them looked around the empty space before shrugging and moving to one of the futons. The other man placed the sword he had in his hand next to the wooden crate right next to the entrance they'd just come through. He then followed his companion's example and fell onto one of the soft futons before shutting his eyes and slipping into a blissful sleep. A few minutes passed before the wooden crate shimmered and changed back into Naruto. The boy let out a low sigh before moving out of the tent. "You alright?" questioned Shikamaru in his ear.

"Yeah," he whispered into the device, looking around to decide where to go next. "Thanks for the heads up. Anyone else I need to worry about?"

"Nobody's too close to you right now so you should be fine," Shikamaru stated, looking around the camp to see if he could find anything. "There are a couple of bandits guarding one of the big tents near the center of the camp. See if you can find out what's in there…" He earned an affirmation from the boy before the blonde moved to where the lazy genin had told him.

Silently moving around the small gaps between tents and past various crates, Naruto approached his target. His eyes narrowed upon seeing the two bandits lazily sitting by the entrance to the tent. Smiling to himself the boy crept up to the tent they were guarding before crouching behind the corner. Reaching into his pocket the boy fished out a small ball of paper. A mischievous smile spread across his face before he tossed it around towards the unsuspecting thugs. The small ball rolled to a stop by the bandits' feet before exploding soundlessly and releasing a cloud of smoke.

The two men guarding the entrance to the tent let out shouts of surprise before their worlds went dark as they felt something hard smash into the back of their heads. Naruto's clones dragged the two unconscious men into the tent as the real one ran through a few handseals before a swift wind dispersed the smoke to reveal the two bandits standing where they'd been a moment ago. Naruto nodded to the two, earning a cheeky smile from the both of them before entering the tent himself.

What he saw when he entered the tent however washed his good mood straight down the drain. "Hey, Shikamaru…" the boy whispered into his headset, his eyes roving over what he was seeing. Upon receiving a reply from the black-haired boy he sighed before explaining what he'd found. "I found the hostages…" Infront of him were the sleeping forms of several women, dressed in little more than rags with their arms and legs bound tightly with lengths of rope. The pieces of clothing did little to cover them and most of them were clumped together in an effort to keep warm. He felt disgust flood his being when he noticed a few of them were mere children.

"Alright then," he heard in his ear. "I want you to stay there. See if you can get them out of any binds they have and try to keep them calm. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Got it," Naruto stated before looking around. His eyes landed on one of the older woman who was awake and cowering in the corner with her wide eyes staring fearfully at him. "Hey, don't be scared…" his words did little to comfort the woman. "Well…this'll take a while…"

Meanwhile, Tatsuo walked through the camp casually. Ducking behind a stack of crates he waited silently as a group of intoxicated bandits passed by. Poking his head out to make sure that the coast was clear he walked out from behind his cover and made his way over to one of the tents. Taking a peek inside he found the place empty, with the exception of a few weapons and futons scattered across the floor. "Hm, nothing here…" the boy muttered to himself before his ears perked up at someone screaming.

Breaking into a run the boy ducked behind a cart to avoid another stray bandit before sprinting towards the source of the earlier noise. Reaching one of the larger tents he looked in through the half open flap to see what was going on. His fist clenched as his eyes widened in rage. "What is it?" he heard Shikamaru's voice in his ear say.

Inside the tent was one of the larger bandits. The man was currently standing over a barely covered woman who was wearing nothing but rags. Said woman had tears in her eyes as she stared up at the man with fear clear in her eyes. "I'm going to go off the coms for a few minutes. Don't worry about it, alright?" Tatsuo didn't wait for an answer before clicking his headset off. He reached down towards his weapon pouch as he slowly entered the tent, the flap closing behind him.

"You shouldn't try and run like that," the man chuckled as his eyes roved over the woman's body. "Do that and you might not make it through the night…" The woman whimpered at the man's words before a few tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. "Are you crying?! What makes you think you can c-" the man's words died in his throat as he found a metal blade lodged in his throat. Blood flew across the room as the bandit let out various muffled noises that sounded little more than incoherent gurgles as he fell backwards onto the ground. The woman he'd been toying with had her eyes wide as the man's blood splattered across her body. She opened her mouth to scream but found a hand on it silencing her.

"Don't scream…" Tatsuo ordered, staring sternly at her. "Scream and you'll get us both killed." Upon seeing the woman nod the boy slowly let go of her mouth. "I need you to listen closely to me, okay?" The woman nodded silently, her eyes still darting to the now dead bandit and back to the blood covered boy. "Are there any more hostages?"

"Y-y-yes…" was all the woman managed, her body shivering from fear. "P-p-please…le-let m-me g-g-go…"

"Shush, it's okay now…" Tatsuo comforted the woman, sending a quick glance towards the entrance. "Noone's going to hurt you now. Don't worry about a thing…" The woman didn't seem convinced by his words at all. Tatsuo sighed, before closing his eyes. "Listen, I need you to do me a favor, okay?"

"W-w-wh-what?" the woman mumbled out, her voice breaking up as she spoke.

"Look into my eyes, please…" Tatsuo stated, opening his eyes to reveal his sharingan spinning at a steady pace. The woman didn't understand his words but stared into the boy's eyes nonetheless. Warmth spread throughout her body as her breathing slowed down to a slow rhythm. "You don't need to be afraid now, okay?" The woman nodded at the black-haired genin's words, her eyes still gazing into his. She couldn't exactly say why, but doing so calmed her down immensely. She felt safe around the boy. "I'm going to get you out of here. Don't worry now, okay?"

"O-okay…" the woman stuttered out, snapping out of her trance-like state as the boy's eyes returned to normal. Tatsuo had never been gladder that his mother had made him read through and practice the material in those scrolls that outlined the usage of the sharingan's hypnotic ability. He'd managed to use said ability to help the woman feel safer and more comfortable. That way, he'd be able to get her out with much more ease than if she was all jumpy and panicked. The boy clicked his headset back on and looked around the small tent.

"Alright, you said there were more hostages, right?" the Uchiha asked the woman, earning a slow nod from her. "Do you know where?" he asked, earning another nod from the civilian. "Could you take me there?" Another nod and the boy rose to his feet, offering the woman his hand and helping her to her feet. The two made their way over to the entrance where Tatsuo peeked out to make sure no one was around. Exiting the tent he heard Shikamaru's voice over his headset. "Yeah, I fou-" he couldn't finish his sentence as a single senbon tore through his headset, leaving a shallow cut across his cheek.

"What?" he whispered to himself, instinctively getting infront of the woman he'd just saved as his sharingan eyes bore holes into the man across from him. "Who're you?"

"Tatsuo Uchiha…" the man spoke, his voice raspy as he stood nonchalantly staring at the boy with a senbon held in between his lips. "My employer would like to have a few words with you…"

A few moments ago, with Choji and Kasumi the two stood guard over the unmoving body of Ino. The two tensed when they heard the rustling of leaves but calmed down when they saw the same bandit that Ino had possessed. "You're back," Choji sighed out in relief. "Are you alright?"

The bandit collapsed to the ground in a heap before the real Ino opened her eyes. "Yeah," she replied before sitting up and rubbing her neck. "That guy was a bit too bulky for my liking. But I got through with most of the outside of the camp."

"What'd you find?" questioned Kasumi as she tied up the fallen bandit with ninja-wire. "Any of the kidnapped villagers?"

"No…" Ino replied sadly. "But there's only a few of them patrolling the outskirts of the camp. It'd be pretty easy for us to storm the place."

"Not an option right now," Shikamaru stated grimly as he landed beside the other genin. "Naruto just found the taken villagers. If we assault the camp right now, chances are that some of those hostages could be hurt."

"What do you think we should do then?" questioned Kasumi. "And what about Tatsuo?"

"I don't know what we should do. Tatsuo said he'd be off com for a bit. I'll see if I can get in touch with him…" the lazy genin answered, pressing a button on his headset as he stood up straight. "Hey Tatsuo, you okay?"

"Yeah, I foun-" the boy's words were left unfinished as the headset merely cut off to static.

"Tatsuo?!" called Shikamaru in alarm. "Damn it! Naruto, you there?!" Upon receiving word from the blonde boy Shikamaru let out a small sigh of relief. "Listen up! I'm sending Ino, Choji and Kasumi in to help you out. You're objective is to escort all the innocents out of there in one piece, got it?

"What about you, Shikamaru?!" Choji stated, standing up and staring curiously at his teammate. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"Tatsuo's com just cut off," the pineapple-headed boy stated. "I need to go see if he's alright. He might be in trouble." The teen turned around and looked back at the rest of the genin one last time. "Get to Naruto and help him get those hostages out. He's near the center of the camp. Be careful!" After that, the boy sprinted out of the forest and towards the camp.

Several minutes ago, Asuma and Kushina had been standing high up in the trees. The two jounin had been reviewing their respective team's progress on the mission. The genin had been doing well thus far. It was actually interesting to see them work their way into the camp and map out the various points of the enemy base. "They're doing pretty well, huh?" questioned Asuma.

"They really are…" Kushina replied with her voice full of pride. "I'm really impressed. Shikamaru seems to be in complete control."

"The kid's a genius…" the cigarette-smoking man stated casually. "He just thinks that it's too troublesome to actually apply himself."

A few moments of silence passed in between the two jounin before Kushina took her eyes off the enemy camp and looked over to Asuma. "Asuma-san…" the red-haired beauty began. "I'd…like to thank you…"

Asuma raised an eybrow, looking over to the woman in confusion. "What for?"

"For saving my son…" Kushina elaborated, looking down at her feet sadly. "Back during that…incident…" Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered the details of that horrible incident. "I left him and he almost lost his life…so thank you…for saving him…"

"Really, you don't need to thank me…" the black-haired jounin stated, stretching his arms out above him. "I just did what was right…" the man reached into his weapon pouches and pulled out his trench knives. "Besides, now isn't really the ideal time to be thanking me…" he stated as his eyes moved around them.

"You're right, I guess…" Kushina stated as she pulled out a single kunai and twirled it around her index finger. "It seems like we have company." she said as her eyes scanned all the enemy ninja surrounding them. "This should be interesting…"

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! So, how was it? Not much else to say besides I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll try and get the next chapter up by the weekend. As you've probably already guessed, I'm all out of pre-written chapters so I have to write, read and edit them as I go along. Feel free to ask any questions you have thus far. I'd be happy to answer them.**

 **Anyways, I'll let you guys get going. As always, thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my work. Seeya later!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well...I've got a few things to cover in this author's note. So, before we get into some of the things going on I'd like to , once again, thank you all for reading and supporting this fic. Alright then, let's see what we have to talk about.**

 **First off, an arc like the one narufemkyuufan suggested doesn't seem like a bad idea. I'll definitely think about it. It'd make for an interesting battle sequence for sure.**

 **Next up, I'm glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter. I did originally plan on throwing Team 8 in there instead of Team 10 so that I could expand a bit on Hinata and Naruto's relationship but I plan on doing that later on. So, I decided to pick the next best thing. Also, Shikamaru is one of my favorite characters and I just had to put him in at some point. Oh and I forgot to state this last chapter but I do plan on using resistance seals for Team 6 but probably during the month break after the first three parts of the Chunin Exams. So don't worry. Team 6 will become super fast...eventually.**

 **As far as sizes and builds for Team 6 go...I'm not too sure how to describe them. Just take them as you will. But all of them are around Sasuke's height from canon, with Kasumi being a bit shorter like Naruto was in canon. Tell me if you guys really do want me to put in their descriptions or if you would rather just imagine them yourselves. They're all lean and more or less agility based though...not overly muscular and bulky.**

 **After that, I was wondering if all of you felt like my story was a bit scattered. Is it really that hard to get a grasp of what's going on? Because the reason why I left a few plot holes here and there was because I intend to fill them eventually with occasional flashbacks and references. Some of the things like the events of the sealing and Tatsuo's past I'll reveal later on...but I will be following canon in terms of alot of events. All I ask is that you don't make too many assumptions based off of canon as there will be things happening in this event that are vastly different from canon.**

 **Finally, I've got some grave news for you guys. My mind is under attack by another plot bunny. Not to the extent that this story was but still. I don't know what to do!**

 **Ruby: Hello world!**

 **No! Ruby, get back in your room! You aren't supposed to be out yet!**

 **Ruby: And why not?! I want to do stuff!**

 **Damn it! Yang! Get your sister to stop running around! I can't concentrate with her bouncing off the walls like this! Anyways, if you haven't guessed from this little incident I'm a fan of Rooster teeth's RWBY. And with volume 3 coming out, well my mind has just been on the fritz lately coming up with random ideas about the series. It's seriously annoying sometimes. No! Ruby! Get down from there!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't know if I've told you this before...but I don't own Naruto. (I don't own RWBY either...RWBY is owned by Rooster teeth and was an amazing creation of Monty Oum's, may he rest in peace)**

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Chapter 9

Tatsuo's eyes bore holes into the man infront of him. The boy's eyes moved over to the woman hiding behind him before he frowned. He looked back at the newcomer, taking in his features. The man wore a long-sleeved grey shirt and baggy grey trousers with the ends tied up using bandages. He wore black boots and fingerless gloves, along with a black trench coat over his shirt. The man also had long grey hair that reached just below his shoulders, aswell as fair skin and black eyes. A senbon hung loosely from in between his lips.

"I'll tell you this once…" the man stated, lazily gazing at his target. "Just surrender and come with me quietly…" The man spun his neck around, a series of satisfying pops following his actions. "Otherwise, things will have to get messy…"

Tatsuo narrowed his eyes at his new opponent before looking back at the woman behind him. "I need you to get back into the tent…" the boy asked, his eyes softening upon seeing her frightened expression. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to come get you when I'm done here…" The woman hesitated for a moment before nodding and running back into the tent. Once she was gone, Tatsuo turned to look at the grey-haired man infront of him. "Who are you?"

"Not important…" the man answered before reaching into one of the weapon pouches on his hips that had been obscured by his coat. "I'm assuming you won't be coming quietly." Receiving no answer from the boy except for him assuming his battle stance the man let out a tired sigh. "The hard way it is then…"

Tatsuo sidestepped the senbon thrown at him, not taking his eyes off of the man infront of him. His body tensed as the man rushed towards him almost too fast for the teen to keep up. Pulling out a kunai, Tatsuo blocked a slash from the grey-haired shinobi's own blade. The two battled for dominance for a few seconds before Tatsuo twisted out of the way and attempted to stab the man but ended up receiving a harsh elbow to his chest.

"Nice try kid," the older man muttered before smashing his fist into the dazed teen's gut. The genin felt the air leave his lungs before he felt the man grab his hair in a tight grip. "But you're a few years too early to fight me." The missing ninja tossed the boy straight into a stack of boxes where he crashed with a loud thud. "Even with the sharingan…"

Tatsuo slowly got to his feet, steadying himself as he tried to get a bearing on his surroundings. He looked back at his opponent to see the man looking at him with a nonchalant expression. Getting his balance back Tatsuo pulled out another kunai, now having a blade in each hand. "Ambidextrous?" he heard the man question with a raised eyebrow before he ran at the man. "Stubborn aren't we…"

The boy's opponent stepped back to avoid the Uchiha's first swing and then backed up further to avoid another pair of slashes. He raised an eyebrow as the teen stopped and brought a single hand up with two fingers extended, his actions taking no more than a second. The missing ninja barely had time to react before he was engulfed, along with the tent and barrels behind him, by a large ball of fire. Tatsuo sighed, his eyes drooping slightly as pain surged throughout his body.

The boy's eyes widened when to arms shot out from the ground underneath him and latched onto his ankles. Thinking fast he formed a single handseal before a pair of clones grabbed onto his arms. The boy felt his feet sink into the ground as the hands tried to pull him under but his copies hefted him back out before tossing him away from them as they were dispersed by rocky spikes that jutted out from the ground around them.

Landing in a crouch ontop of a nearby crate Tatsuo narrowed his eyes at the man who'd just pulled himself out from the ground where he'd stood a few seconds ago. "Interesting maneuver…" the grey-haired shinobi stated before smiling at the boy with an amused look. "I would have never thought to do such a thing." The man shook his head slightly before looking at the boy once more. "But tell me, are you trying to make everyone in this camp aware of our presence?"

At that moment, an explosion echoed throughout the clearing as screams and shouts of alarm rang through the air. Twisting his head slightly the man chuckled to himself. "Nevermind," he began. "It seems you won't be escaping from me that easily." The man's eyes focused on the black-haired genin before suddenly darting towards the right. He leapt away as a thin, thread-like shadow darted towards him, speeding along the ground like a snake. Hopping away from the slithering form the man glanced over to see another boy, this one with black hair tied up into a ponytail crouched with his hands in a single handseal.

"Shikamaru?" Tatsuo questioned looking over at the boy in confusion. "What're you doing here?"

"Shut up and focus, you idiot!" the lazy genius shouted out, his shadow twisting around and lunging towards the man as he landed. "I can't keep this up forever you know!"

Tatsuo nodded to his friend before facing his enemy, who was hopping around to avoid Shikamaru's shadow. Pulling out a few shuriken, Tatsuo launched the star-shaped projectiles at the man. Seeing them coming, the missing ninja twisted in the air to avoid them. He was on the defensive the moment he landed as Tatsuo engaged him in hand-to-hand combat. The red-eyed boy smashed a kick into the man's raised arms before spinning around into a low sweeping kick that forced the missing ninja into the air. Forming his signature handseal mid-sweep Tatsuo blew out a ball of flames that engulfed the man.

Hopping back, the boy noticed the burnt log in place of the man and jerked around to block a hard kick that sent him stumbling to the side with his arm surging with pain. His opponent wasn't allowed to take advantage of the situation as he was forced to leap out of the way of Shikamaru's shadow once more. "Get your head in the game, Tatsuo!" the pineapple-headed boy shouted over to the Uchiha, his eyes darting after the slippery missing ninja.

"You're extremely annoying!" the elder ninja stated as he ran through a few quick handseals before puffing out his chest. He proceeded to blow out a gust of wind that sent Shikamaru skidding backwards as several cuts appeared on his clothes and skin. Rushing towards the teen to follow up his jutsu, the grey-haired shinobi was intercepted by Tatsuo as the boy attempted to stab him with a downward strike. The boy had his arm caught in a tight grip as his target moved out of the way and latched onto his wrist.

Not paying it any mind he smashed his fist into the other man's face, having caught his opponent off-guard with his action. The missing ninja let out a yell of pain as his grip on the boy's wrist loosened ever-so-slightly. His mistake cost him as the boy grabbed his hair and pulled him into the elbow of his restrained arm, prompting him to let the teen go. Tatsuo didn't waste any time once he was free and attempted to slash through his opponent's throat using his kunai. But the most he was able to do was leave a small cut on the side of the man's cheek as the grey-haired shinobi skipped backwards.

The man's eyes widened as a thin shadow twisted around the Uchiha teen and darted towards him. He hopped to the side to avoid the technique but found himself facing off against Tatsuo once more. The man let out an annoyed grunt before he caught the teen's wrist as he attempted to swipe at him with his kunai and smashed his fist into the boy's torso. To his surprise, the boy burst into a cloud of white smoke, leaving the kunai he'd been using to drop to the floor with the tag wrapped around it active.

"What?!" the grey-haired man screamed before trying to leap backwards, only to have his body freeze. "Damn it!" he screamed right before the explosive tag detonated, launching him backwards and straight into one of the surrounding tents, the structure crumbling down ontop of him. Tatsuo watched with relief as the explosion flung the man backwards, hoping that they'd managed to defeat him.

"You think we got him?" questioned Shikamaru as he approached his friend. The lazy genius helped steady the member of Team 6 as he stumbled slightly before looking at him with concern. "You alright?" his words earned him a nod from the boy. "Are you s-?"

"You little bastards!" The two genin snapped their heads towards the tent the man had just crashed into, only to see him rise up once more, flinging the material of the tent aside as he glared at the two teens murderously. The man looked far from unharmed with his clothes torn in various places and the cuts and burns on his skin. "I've had enough of you two!" The missing ninja ran through a sequence of handseals before his skin began to darken to a light black. " **Earth Style: Earth Spear!** "

"Shikamaru…" Tatsuo stated, looking over to his friend. "It's been fun playing shogi with you." He only received a hollow chuckle from the boy in return.

"You know," began Naruto as he stood infront of the women and children behind him, staring at the numerous bandits infront of them. "This could've gone way better." The boy looked over to see his sister shrug and Choji give him a helpless look.

"Oh shut up…" Ino stated, crossing her arms and frowning. "We should be more worried about this! Why are you so calm right now?"

"Don't worry about it," Naruto stated as he brought his hands up to form a familiar handseal. His actions were mirrored by his sister as the two smirked. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** " they both announced as smoke filled the area. The bandits tensed before their eyes widened when they saw the dozens of clones staring at them with predatory eyes. "Charge!"

The camp erupted into chaos as the clones began their assault. The bandits didn't stand a chance as they were brought down one by one by the onslaught of clones. "See Ino!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing cheerily as his and Kasumi's clones mowed down the opposition. "Nothing to worry about!" The boy didn't loose any of his cheery attitude as he ducked under a punch from one of the bandits, reaching up and grabbing onto the man's outstretched arm. With a low grunt the boy widened his stance before flipping the bulky man over himself and into the ground infront of him. Letting the unconcious man's arm fall silently to the ground he dusted his hands and smiled at the rest of his team.

It was at this moment that an explosion went off outside the camp. The four genin's eyes darted in the direction of the sound before they sent serious glances towards eachother. "What was that?" questioned Choji, for once not stuffing his face with various food items. "It came from where we were hiding before."

"No idea…" Naruto stated, his eyes narrowing as he gazed beyond the campsite. "But it can't be good. Let's hurry up and get out of here!" the boy exclaimed before his eyes darted over to his right. The blonde genin ducked under the swing of a bandit as the man tried to slice him in two. The man didn't get any chance to retaliate as he found a foot smashing into his face, courtesy of Kasumi as the girl sent the large man tumbling back into the side of a tent. "Thanks Sis!"

The redhead merely smiled at her brother before turning around to see a few more bandits break through the two Uzumaki's clones and rush towards them with their weapons raised. The girl smirked before forming a few handseals and taking a deep breath. " **Water Style: Wild Water Wave!** " the girl exclaimed, sending forth a stream of water that smashed into the approaching bandits, sending them crashing through various crates and tents. The girl turned around and sent her brother a grin, earning a chuckle from the blonde boy.

Slowly moving through the numerous bandits, the genin moved to escort the hostages to safety. Ino ducked under a slow punch from one of the bandits before bringing her knee up to strike him in a not-so-nice place. The girl gave a satisfied 'humph' before moving on as the bandit lay on the ground, having lost consciousness due to the severe pain. Meanwhile, Choji smashed his fist into a pair of bandits, said fist having grown to the size of a fully grown human due to his **Partial Multi-size Jutsu**.

"Choji! Clear us a path!" Naruto ordered, kicking a bandit in the side of the head to send them crashing into the ground. "We need to get out of here fast!"

The chubby genin of Team 10 nodded in affirmation, his hand shrinking back to normal before he formed a single handseal. " **Multi-size Jutsu!** " the boy exclaimed as his body seemed to bloat into a large ball-like shape. "Get out of my way! **Human Bullet Tank!** " the boy announced as he tucked in his limbs before launching himself forwards with a burst of chakra. Breaking into a speeding roll the teen smashed through everything in his path, sending bandits flying or simply crushing them as he ran over them.

"Alright!" Kasumi cheered as she watched the boy open up a path for them. "Go Choji!" the girl shouted out. She backed up slightly to avoid the sharp edge of a broken bottle before staring up at the bandit who'd attempted to strike her with a raised eyebrow. She sidestepped another strike from the thin man before pulling back her fist. A moment later and the girl walked away from the unconscious man prompting the rest of the genin and hostages to move aswell. The group escaped the camp with little effort, finding themselves clear of any bandits chasing them. Naruto chuckled to himself when he noticed Choji sitting on the ground while mumbling something about how the world was spinning. The blonde looked over the group of gathered women and children before frowning. The state they were in at the moment. This was something he despised. People like the bandits they'd just faced who had no regard for the lives of others. People like those sickened him.

" **Oh, you know you don't mean that…** " he heard the rumbling voice of the fox in the back of his mind. " **In a world like this...noone is as kind as you'd want them to be.** **Everyone is allowed to be as cruel and unforgiving…even you…** " Naruto ignored the insane chuckles of his tenant and turned to face his teammates and the people he'd rescued. He would never allow himself to lose control. He may have trusted the oversized furball in his belly but he'd learned to take everything he said with a grain of salt.

Several minutes ago found Asuma and Kushina standing casually on one of the many tree branches. The two Konoha jounin stared around them at the ninja who'd surrounded them. The shinobi were dressed in brown cloaks with hoods that covered their faces. "You gentlemen lost?" joked Asuma as he took a drag from his cigarette. He received no reply from any of the surrounding ninja and sighed before grabbing his cigarette and putting it out by crushing it into the side of the tree he was standing on.

"I wonder what they're after…" Kushina idly wondered, twirling the kunai in her hand around her index finger. The woman's expression suddenly grew serious as she noticed panic begin to spread throughout the bandit-filled camp. "I'm afraid I don't have time to deal with you all." Her words were followed swiftly by several chains that jutted out from her back and darted in every direction, aimed at several of the surrounding ninja.

Asuma chuckled to himself as the shinobi around the two of them leapt away to avoid the golden metal lengths. The man sighed before darting off his branch and towards one of the enemy shinobi with insane speed. The hooded man didn't know what hit him before he was sliced in two by the chakra-formed blade around Asuma's knives. The two halves of the man fell down to the forest floor in a shower of blood as the bearded Leaf ninja landed on another tree branch. "One down…" the man stated before leaning back to avoid several kunai. He raised an eyebrow as three of the mysterious shinobi darted towards him before ducking a roundhouse kick from one of them. Bringing his arm up he blocked a kick from his side before twisting around and slicing his attacker straight through with his chakra blade.

Spinning around to parry a kunai the man smashed his foot into the torso of another ninja before nailing the man with a hard punch that sent him crashing into the trunk of another tree. "Is that the best you've got?" the black-haired jounin taunted before turning around to grab onto another attacker's arm and then slicing clean through it. The hooded man let out a pain filled scream as his arm was severed before he was kicked off of the branch he'd been standing on. Asuma then proceeded to hop off the branch he'd been on and land on another to avoid the ball of flames that reduced the wooden portrusion to ashes a moment later.

The man let out a low grunt as he ducked under the path of a kunai as its wielder tried to slice through his throat before latching onto the man and falling backwards off the branch. The bearded jounin's feet, however, remained stuck to the branch and so the only one who was tossed off was the poor shinobi he'd caught. Letting himself fall off the branch to avoid several incoming shuriken the man smashed his feet into the ninja he'd just thrown off, speeding up the poor shinobi's descent, before jumping off. He landed and stuck horizontally onto the trunk of a tree before looking up to see several ninja lunge at him. Smirking before running through a series of handseals, he breathed out a cloud of ash. " **Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning!** " the man announced before he ignited the cloud with the flint placed on his teeth. The screams of those who'd been engulfed by the smoky cloud a few seconds ago rang out loud as they were burned alive. "Amateurs…" Asuma muttered as he coughed a bit before placing a new cigarette in between his lips.

Meanwhile, Kushina was engaged in her own fight against several enemy ninja. The woman spun through the air before smashing her heel into the back of one of the hooded men's heads, sending the man speeding towards the forest floor. Landing on a branch the red-haired kunoichi let loose several chains that pierced through a pair of ninja who'd attempted to sneak up on her. Letting their lifeless bodies fall to the ground aswell the woman parried a few shuriken with quick swipes of her kunai before forming a few handseals. A torrent of water exploded out from her mouth, crashing into one of the ninja who were mid-leap, sending him crashing into a tree before he fell to the forest floor where he landed with a loud thud.

The redhead narrowed her eyes as she gazed upon the handful of ninjas who remained. They seemed reluctant to attack now that they'd seen her deal with their comrades. Honestly, it seemed like they were just a little above chunin level. They were obviously not meant to pose a threat to two jounin level ninja like her and Asuma. In which case the woman assumed that they were supposed to be a distraction. The thought that something may have been happening to her students at the moment while she was stuck fighting these annoying pests caused the woman to let out a low growl as seals began appearing on her skin once more.

"All of you…" she muttered, her voice low as the air around began to heat up. Her hair began to float slightly as the seals on her body lit up. "All of you need to get out of my way!" the woman roared before disappearing in a burst of speed. One of the cloak-wearing shinobi let out a choked scream as the woman appeared infront of him, her hand gripping his throat tight enough to almost crush it. A second later and the man was sent rocketing into the ground below, dust rising up as he crashed with an incredible amount of force. Kushina didn't give her opponents any time to react, disappearing before one of the men let out a gurgled scream as blood sprayed out from his cut throat. The Leaf jounin landed crouched horizontally on the trunk of the tree before vanishing once more.

Two more of the mysterious attackers let out screams of pain before falling silent as chains ripped through their torsos. The remaining few, deciding that their rewards wouldn't be worth it, began retreating. They didn't get far before they were cut down by Asuma who gazed casually at their dead bodies when the lifeless corpses fell off the branches. The man turned his gaze over to see Kushina crouched on one of the thicker tree branches, her breathing quick and erratic as the seals on her skin began to slowly vanish. "You seem pretty lively…" he muttered sarcastically upon landing next to her and helping her regain her balance as she stood up. "Are you okay?"

The red-haired woman nodded to the man before attempting to leap off the branch and towards the bandit camp. She was stopped however as Asuma placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're extremely drained at the moment," he stated, earning an annoyed glare from the woman that did little to deter him. "It wouldn't do anyone any good if you rushed in there like that. Naruto and the others seem to have escaped but Tatsuo and Shikamaru are most likely still in there," the man informed his fellow sensei, much to her surprise. "I'll go find those two. You should join up with everyone else…" Earning a reluctant nod from the woman, Asuma smiled at her before the two of them leapt off to assist their students and the people they'd managed to rescue.

Tatsuo and Shikamaru, at the moment, stood across from their opponent. Both boys were bruised and beaten, having received quite a beating from the grey-haired man they'd been fighting. "This isn't going too well, is it?" Shikamaru questioned, earning a roll of the eyes from his current partner. The boy chuckled to himself before looking back at their enemy. "This is really annoying. Nothing we throw at him can get through that armor of his…"

Their opponent had indeed hardened his skin to the point where it was as tough as actual metal. This made it difficult for either of the genin to do any real damage to the man as none of their attacks would actually be able to harm him. "You sure you don't have any lightning-based techniques up your sleeve?" the lazy genius of Team 10 questioned, earning a scowl from the Uchiha next to him. "Particularly something that could pierce that hardened skin of his…"

Tatsuo was silent, having seemingly frozen as his eyes grew cloudy. The crackling of electricity and the sick squelching of flesh overrode his mind as he found himself standing behind someone. His arm was stuck through the person's chest, lightening still crackling along his fingertips. The last words he heard from that person rang aloud through his head as the feeling of blood trickling down his arm caused his eyes to widen. 'I'm sorry…'

The boy returned to reality when he was forcibly pushed to the side in order to avoid several spears of rock that jutted out from the ground infront of him. The boy looked up to see Shikamaru glaring at him with an annoyed expression. "Where's your head at, Tatsuo?!" the boy yelled at him before rising to his feet and glaring at their opponent. "Stop spazzing out and focus!"

Tatsuo shook his head before nodding, a grim smile spreading across his face. He pushed himself up to his feet and stood next to his friend. "I've got one move…" he announced in a low voice, earning a raised eyebrow from the boy. "But I haven't used it in a long time. So I'm not sure if I'd be able to hit a moving target…"

"Aslong as you're sure it'll be enough to pierce that defense of his…" the pineapple-headed genin replied, letting out a tired sigh. "I can buy you enough time to get to him and use it." The boy looked over to the Uchiha with concern evident on his features. "You sure it'll work?"

Tatsuo hesitated for a moment, doubt growing in his heart. Would he really be able to use that technique after what he'd done with it? Could he really pull this off? The face of the woman he'd rescued popped into his mind. He wondered if she had a family. If she had any children who were bawling their eyes out, waiting for their mother to return. He turned to face his long-time friend, the faces of the lazy boy's parents and teammates floating to the forefront of his mind. No, he couldn't afford to doubt himself at this point. He wouldn't fail!

"Yeah…" he stated, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "If you can keep him still for a few seconds, I can nail him with it." His words earned him a smile and a nod from the pineapple-headed boy before the lazy teen reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out a small paper ball.

"Well then," Shikamaru muttered, noting his partner slowly running through handseals. That was odd. The black-haired youth was one of the few genin he knew who was extremely proficient in forming handseals extremely quickly and accurately. He'd have to ask the teen about it later on, when they weren't in any immediate danger of dying. "I'm glad I saved this then." And with that he tossed the small bomb behind him, just as their opponent decided to rush them.

"What?!" the grey-haired man shouted in surprise as he was blinded by an enormous flash of light. Not a moment later he felt his body go stiff, most likely the result of the shadow technique the pineapple-haired boy used. His eyes opened up as soon as he began to regain his vision, only for them to widen as he saw what was coming. Tatsuo was a mere two steps away from him, the fingertips of his right hand crackling with bright blue lightening.

A single step and the black-haired teen let out a loud yell, announcing the name of his technique, something he tended not to do very often. " **Lightning Style: Speeding Arrow!** " Another step and the boy's hand was mere inches away from his opponent's chest. Then, there was blood. The crimson liquid splattered onto the ground as Tatsuo's hand pierced through his opponent's side, earning a pain-filled scream from the man. The boy continued forward past the man, sliding to a stop as he gazed back at his handiwork. His eyes widened upon witnessing the jagged wound caused by his technique, memories of that night long ago rushing back in a flood. Sparks of blue still crackling around his fingers for another few seconds before they dispersed.

Shikamaru watched with wide eyes as the man before them let out screams of pain, still unable to move because of his **Shadow Imitation Jutsu**. The teen lost focus, however, allowing the man to crumble to the ground as he clutched the bloody wound at his side. The man let out a series of murderous curses as the pain from his most recent injury overrode all of his other senses. Several minutes passed before Asuma landed in the clearing, taking note of the squirming man on the ground and the frozen Uchiha staring at the wounded missing ninja. He turned his gaze to his student, finding the boy leaning tiredly against a stack of crates. His eyes moved over to one of the badly ripped tents, landing on the shivering form of a woman who was trying her best to stay out of sight but also see what was going on.

"Well…" the bearded jounin muttered as he took another drag from the cigarette in his mouth. "This doesn't look very good…"

The next morning, Teams 6 and 10 approached the small village located a few miles away from the camp they'd attacked last night. The women and children they'd rescued ran ahead, unable to wait to return to their families and loved ones. The team of ninja had managed to finish their mission quite successfully, having saved all the hostages with zero fatalities on their side.

But not everything seemed alright after the events of the previous night. Kasumi glanced over at Tatsuo, noticing how unusually silent and grim the boy looked. He had slight bags underneath his eyes, indicating that he hadn't gotten much sleep for the few hours the genin had recieved for rest. He'd been this way since they'd left the camp behind them. The younger red-haired ninja looked over to her brother, walking closer to him to ask him what was wrong with their usually calm and collected teammate.

Naruto gazed at his childhood friend once again, having done so several times that morning already. He frowned before looking ahead and shaking his head as a silent message to tell his sister that it was something the boy wanted to deal with himself. Kushina too was worried about her black-haired student. But she'd already tried speaking to him earlier and had ended up with no results.

Team 6 weren't the only one's worried about the black-haired Uchiha though. Ino elbowed her lazy teammate for the tenth time that day, earning her a glare from the teen. "What's wrong with Tatsuo-kun?" the girl whispered, hoping to find some answers as to why the boy seemed so gloomy. Shikamaru didn't reply, choosing to look over at the boy before shrugging his shoulders. On the inside though, he too was rather perplexed as to why the boy was acting so out of character.

Tatsuo silently followed his team into the village, lost in his thoughts. Atleast until they were swamped by the villagers, who thanked them over and over again, trying to express the gratitude they felt for what they'd done. Tatsuo's eyes moved over to see the woman he'd saved yesterday approaching him, followed by a small boy and girl of around four years old. "Thank you, Ninja-san…" the woman stated as she bowed to the teen, earning a surprised expression from the boy. "Thank you for returning me to my home."

The black-haired youth didn't have any time to reply as he was wrapped in hugs by, who he assumed were the woman's children. "Thank you for bringing our mommy back, Mister!" the two kids shouted out in unision, earning an 'aw' from Ino and Kasumi. Kushina merely smiled at her student's predicament while Shikamaru smirked. Choji chuckled along with his bearded sensei and Naruto smiled brightly, seeing the gloomy cloud that had been hanging over his friend's head slowly begin to dissipate.

Tatsuo was at a loss for what to do. The boy looked over to the rest of his team for help but received only laughter in return. He sighed in surrender, ruffling the two children's hair as a smile tugged at the side of his lips. It looked like things weren't all bad afterall.

* * *

 **Well...that went well. How was it? Now I know some of you might think I'm turning Tatsuo into a copy of Sasuke by giving him a lightning-based technique but the concept of the moves are slightly different. To be honest, I don't see how you could make a move like this different from something like the Chidori or Raikiri. It's basically just using lightning chakra to make it easier to pierce things with your hand. The difference is there though. Because instead of having your entire hand engulfed in lightning, you only augment your fingers and thumb to allow you to pierce someone's body.**

 **That being said, the origin story of this technique and how Tatsuo learned it is closely linked to his backstory. It will be revealed eventually, most likely during the Tsunade Retrieval arc. So, you're all going to have to keep waiting till then. Or you can try to guess what happened. I'd really like to see what you all can come up with.**

 **Ruby: Tell me his backstory!**

 **What?! Ruby! No! Get back in your room!**

 **Ruby: Never!**

 **Damn it! Guys! Get a hold of your team leader!**

 **Yang: Do you even know Ruby?**

 **...Point made. Alrighty then, I gotta go catch Ruby before she gets into too much trouble. I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Feel free to ask me any questions that you have until then. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'd sincerely like to thank you for taking the time to read it. Seey-**

 **Blake: She's found a Nevermore...**

 **No Ruby! Damn it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Man! It's been a while! Sorry for not updating last week. I had a lot of work to do and I really didn't want to rush my chapters too much. The extra week also gave me some time to figure out whether I wanted to post this chapter or not. Anyways, I'm back with another chapter for 'The Tale of Team 6'. Once again, I'd like to thank each and every one of you who have read this story. I'd also like to thank you guys for following, adding this story to your favorites and reviewing.**

 **After this chapter we can finally move on to the Chunin Exams! So, little note. This chapter is sort of a backstory chapter. It'll provide you guys with some insight, not enough to spoil too much(atleast I hope), into the backstories of a few characters. Feel free to tell me what you guys think this reveals to you. I'd be interested to know if anyone can guess what some of the content in this chapter means. Although I'm pretty sure there's a few things that are still unknown. And they will remain that way until I choose to reveal them...or until I make a mistake and someone guesses it. Either way...**

 **But enough of my babbling. On with the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto...**

* * *

Chapter 10

Tatsuo walked down the hallway of his home. The boy silently looked around at the broken and scratched walls. His eyes panned over to the fallen picture frames. Kneeling down to take a look at the images he lifted one of them up to get a better view. Cracks were scattered across the glass that protected the picture, causing him to frown. Fiddling with something behind the frame, the teen unhinged the back of the wooden casing before pulling the picture out.

His eyes widened slightly as they gazed at the people present in the picture, one in particular. The first was a teenage girl, around his age. She had long purple hair that fell down to her shoulders and wore a short-sleeved black shirt with a vest of the same color over it. She wore metal arm guards and a sword strapped diagonally across her back. She also wore baggy black pants with weapon holsters on her thighs and had a cheerful smile plastered across her fair-skinned face.

Beside her was another teen who looked to be, once more, as old as him. The boy had spiky brown hair and fair skin. He wore a black shirt with a grey jacket over it, the sleeves of which were folded up to just below his elbows. The boy also wore baggy black pants with a weapon pouch on his hip and had his hand held up with the first two fingers extended in a 'peace' sign.

The last teen was stood to the right of him. Having brown hair that reached down to his forehead aswell as unusual dark lines under his eyes that were clearly visible on his fair skin. He had on a long-sleeved red haori aswell as baggy black pants with bangles around his wrists and ankles. The boy also carried a sword attached to his hip.

Tatsuo's eyes then moved to the woman standing behind the three teens and for a moment, he lost himself in a flood of memories. The jounin, as was clear by her jounin vest, had black hair that was tied into a short ponytail that fell down to the nape of her neck. The woman had fair skin and black eyes. Her lips were curved up into a smile as she stared at the camera. Underneath her left eye was a small tattoo in the shape of a six-petaled flower. Her attire consisted of a tight black shirt underneath her jounin vest and black pants with the ends tied using bandages. The woman also wore arm guards with a sword hung diagonally across her back.

Tatsuo's eyes widened as he heard a ruckus in the backyard. Letting the picture flutter to the ground the genin rushed to see what had happened. Ignoring the abnormally large hole in the back of the house and the burnt and destroyed furniture around him the boy leapt out into the silent night. His eyes widened as they landed on the still form of a person in the center of the small training field. "No…" he muttered disbelievingly to himself before running to the motionless form and falling to his knees beside the woman.

Dull black eyes stared back at him, forcing tears to form in his eyes. Thunder roared in the skies above him, a flash of lightening illuminating the face of the woman before him. The flower-shaped tattoo under the woman's left eye was all that he needed for his worst fears to become a reality. "No…" he muttered once more as his hand moved to check for a pulse. His eyes widened even more when he felt nothing. "No…" Moving his hands to try and force her heart to start, Tatsuo froze as he felt blood. His gaze moved to the hole in her chest, blood slowly leaking out and soaking her clothes and the ground around her. "Oh God…"

The teen's eyes caught movement, prompting him to move his gaze back to the woman's face once more. "Tat-" the woman's voice was weak, but he could just about make out what she was saying. "Tatsuo…" the wounded woman called, her dull eyes moving to look at the boy. She broke into a fit of coughs, causing the boy to let out a startled cry.

"No…please…this can't be happening…" Tatsuo muttered to himself, his body shaking and tears slowly sliding down his cheeks.

"W-w-why d-did…" the woman began, one of her hands slowly rising up to reach for the boy's face. "Y-you do t-th-this…?" Tatsuo's eyes widened as he watched the woman's hand fall limply against her body and her eyes slowly lose their light.

"No!" Tatsuo screamed, as the lightening lit up the night sky. The boy looked at his hands, covered in the blood of the woman he'd killed. The woman he'd known and loved all his life. And he couldn't help it. He screamed.

"Mom!" Tatsuo screamed, jerking up in his bed. The black-haired youth's eyes darted around the room, sweat dripping down his face. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he took quick short breaths. Wiping the sweat off of his brow with his arm the genin placed his face into his hands as he tried to regain control of his thoughts.

The image of his mother's serene face flashed in his mind, causing him to let out a gasp and dart his head up once more. The boy gazed at his hands, shivering after the nightmare he'd just experienced. His eyes darted to his door and he flung the kunai he kept under his pillow at the person who rushed into his room.

"Whoa!" Naruto let out, barely dodging the pointed object as it stabbed into the wall right next to the door he'd rushed in from. "What's wrong, Tatsuo?!" the blonde asked, his eyes moving around the room to make sure that everything was alright. "I heard you scream a couple of times. Are you okay?"

Tatsuo took a few seconds to stare at his blonde teammate, realizing that he'd almost stabbed him with a knife. "I-I'm sorry…" he muttered. "I just…I need a minute…"

Taking a seat next to the boy, Naruto raised an eyebrow before placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "That night again?" he questioned, earning a tired nod from the Uchiha. "Why now? You haven't had one for a few years…"

"It…might be because of the whole camp incident…" Tatsuo replied, slowly moving so that his feet were dangling off the edge of the bed. "It's alright…I'm good." Slowly getting to his feet, the black-haired genin made his way out of the room with his blonde companion following him out.

"You sure?" Naruto asked, leaning against the wall as Tatsuo splashed water on his face in the washroom. "We have the Chunin Exams coming up too…we could drop out if you're not up for it."

"No, it's fine…" Tatsuo replied, taking a few deep breaths before looking into the mirror. "We don't need to drop out of the Exams. This isn't going to be a problem…"

"You're absolutely sure?" the blonde Uzumaki repeated once more, hoping to change his friend's mind. The last time the boy had suffered from a similar dream had left him sitting at home trying to forget what had happened that night all those years ago. It had taken a couple of weeks for the boy to get himself back to normal.

"Yeah," he replied, walking out with a towel around his neck with tired eyes. "Don't worry about it." Walking past his friend and heading for his room once more, the boy took a seat on his bed before running a hand through his hair. "But…I might need some help getting it out of my head." Naruto popped his head into his friend's room, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "You up for some sparring?"

An hour later found Naruto casually leaning against the trunk of a tree. The boy was simply looking ahead as he watched his teammate engage his clones. The black-haired youth had asked him for a distraction so he'd given him a literal army of clones to fight. The young Uzumaki's eyes moved to the side as he heard someone sit down beside him. "Is Tatsuo alright?" Kasumi asked, looking over at her brother with raised eyebrows.

"He had a nightmare…" Naruto replied, returning to watching his friend fight his clones. "And so he needed something to help him get over it." Kasumi raised an eyebrow before turning to look at her other teammate."So, what are you doing here?"

"Haku told me you two were here..." the girl stated. She frowned upon seeing the Uchiha fighting far more aggressively than he usually did. That was definitely odd.

Tatsuo ducked under a spinning kick from one of the Naruto clones before rolling back to avoid the drop kick from another. Rolling to his feet the boy spun around and knocked another clone's fist to the side. Letting out a grunt the boy smashed his own fist into the blonde's face, dispersing the copy in a puff of smoke. Not stopping for a second he blocked a kick with his left arm before latching onto his attacker's leg. Twisting around, he pulled the clone forward and threw him into another copy of his teammate, effectively destroying both of them.

"Is that the best you got?" he taunted, smirking at his opponents. His sharingan eyes darted to each of the blonde clones that rushed at him, catching each of their movements before the genin reacted. Spinning around to smash a foot into the face of one of his opponents he sidestepped a punch and caught the arm of the attacker. Pulling the clone infront of him to use as a shield he smirked as the blonde popped when he received a punch to the gut from his fellow clone.

"Try to keep up…" the Uchiha stated, grabbing onto the shirt of the clone infront of him before pulling the poor teen into his speeding fist. Ducking under a punch he smashed his fist into his attacker's gut before rolling out of the way as another clone tried to smash a kick into him through the smoke. Stopping in a crouch his eyes noticed the two clones darting towards him from either side. Turning to his right he blocked a left hook before stopping the clone's rising knee with his other hand. Pushing the two limbs out of the way he ducked to avoid the spinning kick from behind him before pushing himself back to collide with the clone behind him. Hearing the telltale sound of the copy dispersing he looked back ahead, only to have his eyes widen as a pair of arms grabbed each of his arms.

"Don't get too confident!" the Naruto infront of him exclaimed before he buried his fist into his black-haired friend's gut. Feeling the air leave his lungs, Tatsuo let out a harsh cough before he caught a glimpse, through his narrowed eyes, of the clone pulling his fist back for another attack. Gritting his teeth he hopped up before smashing his feet into the clone's torso. Catapulting himself, using the clone right before it disappeared, he pushed himself back out of the grasp of the clones that had restrained him.

Looking up as he sat crouched on the ground the boy's eyes narrowed upon seeing several clones running towards him. Responding in kind he darted forward, meeting them in the middle. Ducking under the punch from the first clone he smashed a palm into the blonde's gut. Spinning into a low sweep he swiped the feet of another clone from under it before leaping up and implanting his foot into the face of another.

Tatsuo's neck snapped to the side as he received a hard punch from one of his opponents, forcing him to stumble slightly. Jerking his head back to look at his attackers he received a hard kick to his torso, prompting him to cough loudly as he was sent skidding across the ground on his back. Coming to a stop his eyes opened up just in time for him to roll to the side to avoid the descending heel of one of the clones.

Slowly standing up he took in a couple of deep breaths. Looking at the numerous clones still present he smiled. "Guess this does help get my mind off of that dream…" Smirking at the group of clones infront of him he took a second to take note of where each of them was before running towards them.

"Why does Tatsuo seem so angry?" Kasumi questioned, looking over at her brother in curiosity. "He usually doesn't fight so…offensively…"

"He's just blowing off some steam," Naruto answered with his hands behind his head as he watched the black-haired genin go at it with his clones. "It's been a while since he's had a dream like the one he did today…"

"But the Chunin Exams are just around the corner!" the young redhead exclaimed, looking at her brother in surprise. "Are you sure we should be participating if one of us isn't feeling well?"

"He said he was fine…" Naruto stated, closing his eyes and leaning back slightly. "But if I think he isn't doing so well then we'll drop out." Kasumi nodded at her brother's words before looking down at the ground, seemingly thinking about something. "Something wrong?"

"I was just wondering…" the girl started, her voice slightly lower than before. "Have you ever…killed anyone, Big Brother?" Naruto's eyes snapped open at the girl's question before he looked over at her in confusion.

"What brought this on?" the blonde asked, leaning forward so that he was sitting up straight.

"I…" the young kunoichi stopped for a few seconds, her eyes staring at the ground by her feet. "It's just…I wanted to know because I want to understand why you'd have done it…" her words were barely above a whisper and she refused to look at her brother. Naruto's eyes softened upon seeing her in this state before he sighed and crossed his arms.

"It's okay," he comforted her, earning a hopeful gaze from her. "I guess it's better if you learn now rather than later. I have killed before, Kasumi." The boy noticed his sister's eyes widen slightly but decided not to pay it any mind. "But the only reason I've done it is to protect those who are innocent and deserve to be protected." Kasumi tilted her head slightly in confusion, prompting her brother to sigh and explain.

"Remember that time in Wave?" Naruto began. "When Haku knocked you unconscious?" Seeing the girl nod, Naruto continued to explain his point. "Well, I arrived a little while after that and found Mom and Zabuza fighting against a bunch of bandits." The blonde took a moment to look up at the cloudy sky before looking back at his sister. "Seeing them fighting together, I decided to help out. The only thing that I knew for sure was that the bandits would hurt Mom."

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself for what was to come, the boy finally got to the part he'd been dreading. "I tried my best not to kill anyone…" he stated, prompting his sister to lean in closer because of his lower tone of voice. "But there were times when I couldn't avoid it. So I did end up taking a few of them out…permanently."

Kasumi, hearing her brother's words, looked down at the ground. The girl was silent for a few moments, simply going over what her elder sibling had told her. She understood why he'd done it, but she didn't know what to think of it. "I know it's hard to accept, Kasumi…" said Naruto, looking at his sister in sympathy. "But it's something that we, as ninja, have to do. The only advice I can offer you in regards to it is that you don't do it without valid reason or end up enjoying it."

A moment of silence passed between the two, broken only by the occasional shouts coming from Naruto's clones and Tatsuo as they engaged in battle. It was only when Naruto had begun to think that his sister might have begun to hate him for what he'd done that the young redhead actually spoke up. "When was the first time you killed someone?" her voice was barely above a whisper, full of both curiosity and dread.

Naruto raised an eyebrow upon hearing her question before he leaned back and stared up at the cloudy sky. He could definitely see why Shikamaru enjoyed doing so. It was pretty calming and quite peaceful. "The first time I killed someone, eh?" he repeated, his mind slowly going back to that time a few years ago. "Well, that's a bit of a story I guess. But since we've got time…" Sitting up straight once more he looked at his sister with a lazy gaze. "Listen up. It was around five years ago…"

 _ **...Flashback…**_

 _The sounds of grunts and cries rang aloud through the clearing. A young boy with wild blonde hair stood breathing heavily in the center of the open space. His white shirt and black pants were damp with sweat. The boy glared at the man infront of him, his cerulean eyes boring holes into the white-haired ninja while his lips were curled into a scowl._

 _The man infront of the boy was tall with long white hair that reached his waist, tied into a long ponytail. Two long bangs framed the man's face, the rest held up out of his face by the horned forehead protector he wore. Said headband had the kanji for 'oil' written on it in ink. He also had fair skin with a wart on the left side of his nose and two red lines painted on his face that ran down from his eyes. The man wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit. His outfit also consisted of hand guards, a simple black belt, wooden sandals, a red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side, and a rather large scroll on his back._

" _What's the matter, brat?" questioned the elder man as he smirked at the exhausted boy. "You done already?"_

" _Screw you, you Pervy-Sage!" the young boy shouted at the man, pointing at him accusingly. "We've been fighting for the past three hours! Ofcourse I'm tired!"_

 _The white-haired man narrowed his eyes at the boy as a vein bulged on his forehead. "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that, you ungrateful brat?!" he shouted back at the smaller boy, earning him a 'humph' from said blonde. "I am the Great Sage of Mount Myōboku! The amazing Jiraiya!" seeing the small boy ignoring him he scowled before crossing his arms. "And besides, what do you mean fighting? I haven't even been trying!"_

 _Naruto grew red with rage before pointing at the man once more. "Ofcourse you haven't!" he exclaimed with anger filling his voice. "You're one of the Three Sannin! I wouldn't be able to make you break a sweat even if there were a hundred of me!"_

 _Jiraiya rubbed his chin before nodding at the blonde's words. "That is true…" he stated. "But it doesn't give you any excuse to quit!" he roared, pointing comically at the boy with his eyes closed tight._

 _Naruto's jaw hung open at the red-wearing man's words before he began to grind his teeth in rage. "It's been three hours already!" he shouted at his mentor as he glared at him. "I'm tired! What do you want from me?!"_

 _Jiraiya decided to stop for the moment. It was fun taunting and teasing the blonde but he was just ten. The boy needed a break and so he'd give him one. "Alright already…" he stated, waving his hand around casually as he began to walk over to the campsite they'd been using. "Don't scream my ear off. Take a few minutes to rest up."_

 _The blonde Uzumaki scowled at the elder man as he too began walking towards the camp. A few minutes wasn't going to cut it! He might have been an Uzumaki but he was just ten. Training with the Perverted Hermit was exhausting beyond belief. But he couldn't argue with the results. Four years with the man and he'd grown ten times as strong as he'd been back in Konoha. But then again, he hadn't really had any sort of training back in the village anyways._

 _As student and master sat on a log, taking a break from their daily training, Jiraiya looked over at his Godson out of the corner of his eye. The boy had grown quite a bit from the shy and timid child that had been attacked back in the Leaf Village. He'd actually made impressive progress over the past four years. But it was nearing the time that he'd have to return to Konoha. Well, if he wanted to be admitted into the Ninja Academy that is._

 _Seeing as their return was growing ever so closer, Jiraiya knew that there was one thing that he'd need to have the boy do before he returned. He wouldn't trust anyone else with the task. Seeing the boy finishing his drink from his canteen, the Sannin decided that now was as good a time as any. "Hey, brat?" he called, earning himself a glare from the blonde boy. "It's almost time for us to head back, you know." Seeing the slightly fearful look on the child's face caused a burning rage to surface within his heart. To think that the boy was still afraid about what had happened. If the people who had attacked the boy had still been alive then they would have wished that they were slaughtered in the most horrific way possible when he got to them._

" _Don't worry about that now though," he stated, seeing some relief on the boy's face. "There's one last thing I want to teach you before we head back to the village." Seeing the boy tilt his head in confusion the white-haired man let out a sigh before finally stating it. "I want to teach you how to take a life, Naruto." His words took a moment to register for the blonde after which the boy's eyes widened in disbelief._

" _W-what?" he questioned, wondering if he'd heard wrong._

" _You heard me, Naruto…" Jiraiya stated grimly. He didn't want to do this but he would rather have the boy perform the deed and breakdown in a controlled environment rather than in an actual life-or-death situation. "You need to learn that as a ninja you'll need to kill. And I don't want you losing it in the middle of an actual battle where you'd be more likely to lose your life."_

" _B-b-but…" the boy sputtered, trying to find something to say. But his mind had just gone blank. He couldn't think properly and he didn't know what he was supposed to do or feel. "Why?"_

" _There are people in this world who deserve death, kid…" Jiraiya stated, staring down at the ground. "And there are times when you'll have to kill someone to protect something precious to you…whether it's an object or a person. I don't expect you to understand the reasons right now, but I'm sure you will."_

 _The young Uzumaki boy looked down at his feet, his mind filled with thoughts and doubts. "How long?"_

" _There's a group of bandits who've been moving around raiding travelers nearby," the Perverted Sannin explained as he took a quick drink from one of the canteens. "So it'll probably be tonight. I want you well rested for it though so no more training for today."_

" _Do…you think I'm ready?" the blonde questioned, looking up at his mentor. He earned a confident smile from the man in return._

" _Sure you are!" exclaimed Jiraiya, giving the boy a hard pat on the back. "And besides, you'll have me covering for you. So there's no need to worry!" Naruto smiled at the older man, knowing that no matter how difficult things might get he could count on his Godfather to help him when he needed it._

 _The day flew by quite quickly after that. Too fast for Naruto's tastes but the boy had little choice on what to do. He found himself crouched beside his mentor under the cover of darkness as they looked in on the small group of bandits. The boy was currently wearing his white shirt and black pants with a thin black vest over it and a kunai pouch strapped to his right thigh. "There's only five of them," Jiraiya stated from beside him, causing him to jump slightly._

" _Don't be so tense, brat…" the man joked, ruffling the boy's hair much to his disapproval. "I'll take four of them and keep an eye on you when you go up against the last one, okay?" Earning a hesitant nod from the small blonde, the man smirked before running through a chain of handseals. "Here we go…" he muttered._

 _The next instant, shouts of alarm could be heard throughout the clearing as smoke filled the small clearing. One of the bandits fell to the ground motionless as he received a brutal chop to the back of his neck. The others turned towards their fallen comrade to find the white-haired Sage standing over his dead body with a predatory smirk on his face. "You boys seem jumpy!" Jiraiya exclaimed before moving back slightly as the bandits rushed towards him._

 _Ducking under the horizontal swing of a small axe he grabbed onto his opponent's neck before smashing him into the ground. The man lay motionless with his eyes having rolled back into his head. Blocking a punch from one of the bandits he latched onto the man's arm before spinning around and throwing him off to the side. The other two thugs halted in their assault, having seen how the rest of their comrades had been utterly destroyed._

 _The bandit Jiraiya had tossed aside slowly rose to his feet, having slammed into the trunk of a tree. Shaking his head he glared at the white-haired intruder. He shook his head to get rid of the wooziness and began to run towards the man once more before he received a hard kick to the back of his head that sent him tumbling to the ground._

" _What the hell?!" the man exclaimed, as he rose to his feet once more and turned around. To his surprise he found no one present. Jerking his head to the side when he heard something the man found nothing once more. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" he shouted, his head darting in every direction to try and spot his attacker._

 _The man received another kick to the back of the head that made him stumble forward but he managed to keep his balance. Upon twisting around he was hit in the face with a small paper ball. A second later and he found himself coughing as smoke obscured the world around him. The man swore rather loudly, waving his arm around in an attempt to clear the cloud of smoke._

 _He heard footsteps behind him and swung around, only to feel someone slide through his open legs. The next instant he received a painful cut across his back that had him screaming in pain. He swore even louder when he received another cut, this one across his right thigh. Hearing the screams of pain from his comrades the man knew that he wouldn't be getting out of this alive._

 _The next few minutes were a pain-filled experience for the man before he finally lost consciousness. Jiraiya approached his student as the boy stared unsure at the unconscious man at his feet. "It's okay, kid…" the Sannin stated, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You can do this…"_

 _The blonde Uzumaki's grip on the kunai tightened before he slowly raised it into the air. "You know where to aim, Naruto…take your time..." Jiraiya stated, earning a nod from the boy. And then, Naruto swung down._

… _ **End Flashback…**_

"And that's how it happened…" Naruto finished, stretching his arms out above him. He looked over to see his sister staring at him with curiosity. "What?"

"What happened afterwards?" she asked innocently, wondering how the incident had affected him.

"I puked," the blonde genin replied blankly. "After that I was depressed for another three days. I had a few nightmares too so I didn't get a lot of sleep. It wasn't until I'd gotten back to Konoha and had a talk with the Old man that I started to get over it." Kasumi nodded at her sibling's words before smiling at him.

"Thanks for telling me, Big Brother…" she said. The girl proceeded to hug the blonde, much to his surprise and confusion. "I'm glad I was able to hear that from you."

"Um…okay?" Naruto questioned more than stated before turning to see Tatsuo heading over towards them. "Hey, seems like Tatsuo's finished with my clones." Kasumi's head jerked around to see the sweat-covered boy approaching them before her mouth fell open in disbelief.

"There were dozens of them!" she exclaimed in shock, unable to believe that her teammate had managed to destroy all of them in such a short amount of time. "How did he beat them all so fast?!"

"Well…" the girl's brother began, rising to his feet. "My clones aren't the most coordinated. Plus, Tatsuo's sharingan helps him keep up with them pretty well." The boy moved ahead to meet his friend before the two began walking out of the training field, Kasumi running after them as her brother motioned for her to follow. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah," Tatsuo replied, wiping the sweat off of his face with his arm. "But I'm hungry right now. How's about some Ichiraku's?" The twin shouts of joy were all the confirmation he needed as the three headed for the ramen stand.

Meanwhile, Kushina stood infront of the Hokage along with Asuma. "Were we able to gain any information from him?" the red-haired jounin questioned, hoping that she'd be able to learn why the man was after her student.

Hiruzen nodded, going through the file he'd received from Ibiki regarding the interrogation. "He was paid to capture Tatsuo-kun," the old leader began. "His employer wanted him alive. They met in a small village in the Land of Wind."

"The Land of Wind?" Kushina muttered, trying to think of possible suspects. "It has to be someone who knows about the Uchiha clan. Or someone who's had some sort of contact with Tatsuo-kun."

"We did receive a description of said employer, however…" the Hokage stated, reading through the folder in his hands. Asuma raised an eyebrow, chewing on the end of the cigarette in his mouth. "Fair-skinned, dark eyes and blue hair in a spiky ponytail. Red lipstick and brown gloves. A green dress with a long left sleeve, short right sleeve and a red turtle-neck with a white high collar. She was also wearing a one-piece red suit and calf-length brown boots."

"Pretty unique appearance," the bearded jounin stated in response. "But it won't do us any good if she's in hiding. No way to track her either." The man received grim nods from the other two ninja before sighing. "Guess we'll just have to keep our eyes open."

"We will indeed," Hiruzen stated as he placed the folder on his desk once more. "Especially with the Chunin Exams coming up. And since both your teams are participating, I'd suggest keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble." The old man earned nods of agreement from the two jounin before he dismissed them with a wave of his hand. After they'd left, he turned around to stare out of the window. "The future seems rather troubling. I wonder what awaits us…"

* * *

 **Phew! That one was interesting to write. Hopefully, the ones after this are a bit longer. Anyways, not much else to say now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in a review or PM me if you want. Whatever suits you, I guess. Thanks for taking the time to read my newest chappy. Hope you enjoyed it.  
**

 **Seeya!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Guys...I-I can't believe it. This story...the views...t-th-their OVER 9000!**

 **Kasumi: Where have you been? We passed 9000 ages ago!**

 **W-what? Really?**

 **Naruto: Yeah! You've been gone for like...three weeks!**

 **Um...yeah...so, about that. Wait, before I get to that I wanna thank each and every one of you who've helped this story get this far. Sincerely, Thank You! Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would get so popular. Honestly, I thought everyone would hate it...yeah I have low self-esteem. But seriously, I can't express how thankful I am. Really...Thanks.  
**

 **With that out of the way, I'd also like to say sorry. I know I said I'd update on a proper schedule but I won't be able to do that for the next few weeks. The reason being that I have Exams of my own coming up and a few other important things that I have to deal with. So my updates will probably be pretty scattered for the next month. Or maybe just for a couple of weeks. Once more, I apologize for not being able to be punctual with my update schedule.**

 **Okay, on to the actual story now. I haven't gotten any questions so I'm assuming there isn't anything too confusing or wrong in the story so far. As promised, this chapter is the official start of the Chunin Exams. Yay!**

 **Disclaimer: I still donot own Naruto. Nor am I ever going to...if we're speaking realistically that is. Hey, I can dream can't I?!**

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Chapter 11

Tatsuo gazed longingly at the image before him. His hands held onto the picture frame carefully, as if the slightest mistake would end up breaking the object in his hands. His eyes however were focused on the people present in the framed picture. A younger version of himself stood in the center, cheerfully smiling at the camera. To his left was his mother, her hands crossed over her chest as she smiled at the camera with one of her eyebrows slightly raised.

To the younger boy's right was his father. The man wore a simple attire consisting of a deep blue shirt, its long sleeves folded up to just below his elbows, and baggy grey pants. He had fair skin with messy raven hair. The man's black eyes gazed at the camera lazily, a playful smirk on his lips as one of his hands rested upon his son's head. Tatsuo couldn't help but smile as he looked at the perfect scene. It seemed like such a long time ago and he wished that things hadn't gone the way they had. Now…he was all alone.

"Tatsuo!" a loud voice proclaimed from the doorway to his room. The boy's head rose up, his hand instinctively tightening around the picture in his hands. "Big Brother isn't waking up!" Kasumi announced, pouting as she said the words. Tatsuo smiled slowly, the metaphorical cloud of despair slowly dispersing from atop his head. He mentally punched himself for forgetting that he did indeed have family. They may not have been related by blood but his team and the friends he'd made were as close to family as he'd ever had.

The boy chuckled to himself, slowly replacing the frame on his bedside table before rising to his feet. "Alright then," he stated as he walked out of his room, doing a mental check to make sure he'd gotten all of his gear. "Let's see if we can wake that dumb brother of yours up…" Entering the blonde Uzumaki's messy room Tatsuo let out a sigh. He'd told his teammate a thousand times to clean up the catastrophe that was his room but the teen just didn't seem to listen. Walking up to the bed he rapped his knuckle on the blonde genin's head in an effort to wake him from his slumber. "Yo! Wake up!"

The boy didn't open his eyes, choosing to simply shift under his sheets whilst mumbling something about cat-ears and short skirts. Tatsuo stood stunned for a second before his teammate's words clicked in his head. Slowly placing his face in the palm of his hand he contemplated on how to best wake his friend from what was no doubt a rather alluring dream. Getting tired of the situation, Kasumi barged into the room with a jug of water. "I am not going to be late because of you, Big Brother!" she roared, dumping the, no-doubt, cold contents of the glass container on top of the sleeping form that was Naruto Uzumaki.

What ensued was the loudest scream that either of the blonde's teammates had ever heard as the final member of Team 6 rocketed out of the bed and ended up smashing into the ground beside it as his feet grew entangled in his sheets. "What the hell was that for?!" the boy roared in anger as he glared up at his two snickering teammates. "That was uncalled for, you guys!"

"If you're done having your fit…" Tatsuo began, shaking his head in amusement at his best friend's predicament. "We're going to be late." Seeing the blonde's confused expression the Uchiha facepalmed before slowly dragging his hand down his face. "Naruto…the Exams…"

Realisation dawned upon the fallen Uzumaki's features before he rushed to get ready. The boy did, unfortunately, forget to untangle his feet from the clutches of his bed sheets and so found himself colliding, once more, with the hard wooden floor. He couldn't blame his two teammates for bursting into laughter upon seeing his actions.

An hour later Team 6 walked down the street, on their way to the academy, where the Chunin Exams were being conducted. The three teens had determined looks on their faces. Well, technically Kasumi looked rather anxious while Naruto was hopping in excitement. Tatsuo was acting laid back as usual. The three turned the corner and came face to face with their Sensei. Kushina was dressed in her usual shinobi attire, a smile plastered across her face as she looked at each of her students.

"So you three finally made it!" she exclaimed enthusiastically with her hands placed on her hips.

"Wait…" Tatsuo stated, gaining the woman's attention. "Have you been standing here this entire time waiting for us?" The boy's question caused both his fellow genin to raise their eyebrows before looking at their team leader with inquisitive expressions.

Kushina's mouth hung open for a few seconds before she swiftly turned her back to the three. The woman waved her hand rapidly as she let out a loud nervous laugh. "Of-ofcourse not!" she stated, not allowing her students to see her face to keep the light blush on her cheeks out of view. "Why would I do something that stupid? I just got here a few minutes ago!"

Tatsuo tilted his head slightly in confusion, his blonde friend mimicking his actions. "But then why did you say that we 'finally' made it if you just got here too?" Kasumi asked out loud, causing her mother to freeze. "Are you okay, Sensei?"

"Nevermind!" Kushina exclaimed, seemingly appearing behind her students and pushing the three of them along. "You three have an exam to attend! I have complete faith in you!" The woman stated as she shoved the genin through the gates of the academy. "Remember! Work together and look out for one another!" By the time the trio of young ninja turned around, the woman was already gone. Naruto caught a small piece of paper that fluttered down infront of him and held it up so all three of them could read it. The small piece of parchment had only two words written in rushed writing on it. _'Good Luck!'_

"Well…" Naruto started, crumpling the paper before shoving it in his pocket. "That was a thing." He looked over to Kasumi who was scratching her head in a slightly confused manner. Moving his gaze over to the final genin of Team 6, Tatsuo gave the blonde a lazy shrug before spinning around and walking off. A second later and his two teammates were walking alongside him.

The three hadn't walked for more than a few minutes when they came upon a sizeable crowd of genin infront of a door. The sign above said door read '301', signifying that it was the site of the first part of the Chunin Exams. Taking one quick look at the sign and the crowd, Tatsuo moved past the room and towards the second flight of stairs that would lead them to the next floor. The black-haired teen closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He didn't expect so many competitors to fall for such a simple trick. And it was definitely a simple trick. They weren't even on the third floor yet!

Having his eyes closed, the teen didn't see the person infront of him until he ended up crashing into her. Snapping his eyes open and catching himself before he fell backwards onto his butt the teen looked down to see a fellow konoha genin glaring up at him. The girl was fair-skinned and had dark brown hair and eyes. Her hair was done up in buns on either side of her head with a few bangs falling over the Leaf headband she wore on her forehead. Her attire consisted of a pink sleeveless blouse with red sleeve trimmings and yellow fastening buttons as well as dark green pants, a pouch attached to her thigh, and blue ninja sandals. The girl also carried a pair of scrolls attached to the sides of her hips.

"Hey!" she growled at him as she rubbed her back. "Watch where you're going!" Tatsuo took a step back at the animosity present in her voice. She seemed rather angry for some reason. Maybe she was having a tough day. Taking a second to realize that the current situation was, infact, his fault the boy stepped forward and held a hand out to the girl.

"Sorry…" he apologized as the girl took his offered hand. Hefting her up to her feet he gave her a small bow as a gesture of apology. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." The girl dusted her clothes off for a bit before taking a deep breath. She looked at him for a few moments, prompting him to give her a sheepish smile.

"Do you know those two?" the bun-haired girl questioned, pointing past him at Naruto and Kasumi who were intently watching the scene unfold. Having noticed that they'd been discovered the two disappeared past the two and up the next flight of stairs.

Rubbing his temple to calm himself after seeing his teammates' antics he gave the girl infront of him a smile and a nod. "Yeah…" he answered calmly, earning a raised eyebrow from the genin. "They're my teammates. We're here for the Exams…"

"Is that so?" she questioned with a slight grin. "Well then, aren't you heading the wrong way?" Tatsuo tilted his head slightly at the girl's question, choosing to play dumb instead of revealing that he and his team knew what they were doing. "I mean, isn't the first part of the Exam that way?" she said, pointing down the hall from where Team 6 had just come.

"Really?" the black-haired Uchiha questioned. "Huh…we must have missed it then. I'll have to go get my team then!" he stated out loud.

Noticing the girl's analytic eyes roving over him, Tatsuo narrowed his eyes before deciding that he'd wasted enough time here. "Well…It was nice meeting you Panda-san…" he stated, causing the bun-haired girl infront of him to freeze. "But I don't want to be late for the Exam. Thank you for telling me where it is."

"What…did you just call me?" the girl asked him, her voice ominously low as her eyes were hidden from view due to her lowered head.

"Panda-san…" Tatsuo repeated whilst tilting his head slightly. "You know…because of your hair." He said, smiling as he pointed at the buns on the brown-haired genin's head. He took a nervous step back, his smile growing a bit more forced, when he heard the kunoichi begin to chuckle under her breath. "Um…are you okay?"

"Oh!" the girl stated, looking up at him with an eerie smile. "Never better! Why'd you ask?" she questioned, her voice oddly frightening. Tatsuo gave the girl a reluctant shake of the head, a voice in the back of his head yelling at him to run for his life. Upon seeing him nod the kunoichi's smile seemed to grow twice as large before she moved past him with a skip in her step, whistling a jaunty tune as she went.

Tatsuo stood frozen for a few moments before slowly moving for the stairs. Reaching the top of the flight of steps he found his teammates waiting for him. "Woah…" Naruto muttered, noticing his friend's rather frightened expression. "You alright, Tatsuo?"

The black-haired member of Team 6 took a deep breath before slowly nodding to his blonde companion. "Yeah…" he stated as the three of them started moving once more. "But that girl was scary. I don't think she could have been any more terrifying." A chill passed through the genin's spine as he said this. Oh how wrong he was indeed. "But, I mean what are the chances of us meeting her again over the course of this Exam, right?" Another chill went down the teens spine as he finished his question.

Walking down the hall on the third floor of the academy building, Team 6 came to a halt infront of the real room 301. "Well…" Kasumi began, gulping audibly as she looked over to her brother for support. Receiving a nod from the blonde genin she looked back at the door and reached for the knob. Her fingers had merely brushed the metal handle when she, along with the other two genin of Team 6, heard a loud 'Yo!' from right behind them. The reactions of the three genin were rather diverse, much to the hidden pleasure of the man behind them.

Kasumi let out a loud yelp, even jumping slightly before she jerked around to glare at the person who'd startled her. Tatsuo's head snapped to the source of the greeting, his eyes narrowed in alarm. Naruto let out a small yell before spinning around, only to trip on his own feet and end up falling flat on his rear. All three teens faced the man infront of them before letting out a sigh of exasperation and relief.

"What's the big idea, Scarecrow?!" Naruto shouted at the silver-haired jounin who stood before him. "You trying to give us a heart attack or something?!"

Kakashi chuckled as he looked at the three genin with a single eye. He slowly stowed his precious orange book back into his weapon pouch, choosing to read it later so that he could annoy his own team. "Me?" he questioned, pointing at himself innocently as he raised a single visible eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I simply saw the three of you here and decided to say hello."

"Didn't have to be so creepy about it…" Naruto muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and pouting as he looked away from the masked shinobi. "So then, what are you doing here?" the blonde genin asked, wanting to know why the silver-haired man was indeed there. Obviously not for the sole reason of scaring the life out of them.

Kakashi chuckled at the orange-wearing Uzumaki's actions before leaning casually against the wall. "Well, if you must know…" he started, earning the attention of the three young ninja. "I was on my way to the fish market when a cute brown rabbit pushed me down a rabbit hole that ended up leading here." Silence ensued after Kakashi stated his reason for being there. The man mentally counted down from ten, waiting for the inevitable and oh-so-amusing reaction that would follow.

"What?!" Naruto and Kasumi shouted out loud while Tatsuo let out an annoyed sigh. Sometimes, Kakashi could make the most dumbest of excuses. It was even more annoying to know that he did so on purpose.

"But my presence here isn't really what's important…" the one-eyed ninja stated, his single visible eye focusing in on the genin of Team 6. "You three are far too anxious. And that won't do you any good in this Exam. So relax and try to let things run their course." Earning slightly nervous nods from the three ninja, Kakashi gave them his version of a smile, which ended up being his visible eye curving into an upside-down 'U'. "Good. Now go on ahead. I'll just wait around for my cute little genin to get here."

Taking the older man's advice, Team 6 took several deep breaths before entering the room where their first trial awaited them. The last thing Kakashi heard before the door closed behind the three was a muttered question by Kasumi. "Why do all the jounin come early and wait for their students to arrive?"

Once he was left alone in the silent hallway, the silver-haired jounin raised a single eyebrow before bringing his hand up to rub his covered chin. "Hm…" he muttered aloud to himself. "I wonder why we do do that?"

Upon entering the large room, the members of Team 6 found themselves on the receiving end of a rather large amount of killer intent. Taking a few seconds to shake off the dreadful feeling, the three genin looked around to size up the competition. Tatsuo raised a surprised eyebrow upon seeing the large number of genin present in the sizeable room. It seemed like that a lot of people had indeed made it past the illusion on the second floor. Kasumi looked around nervously at the numerous ninja glaring at them before looking over to see her other two teammates seemingly unaffected. She took a few deep breaths before visibly relaxing as she reassured herself. Naruto couldn't help but grin as his eyes glanced over everyone else present for this exam. How could he not be excited at the prospect of getting to fight so many people.

"Hey!" the three heard, prompting them to look over to their right. "So you guys are here too, eh?" Kiba stated, giving Team 6 a toothy grin. The brown-haired teen was accompanied by both Shino and Hinata aswell.

"What's up, mutt?!" Naruto exclaimed, returning the animalistic grin with one of his own. The two teens bumped fists before chuckling. Moving his gaze over to Shino and offering the boy a nod, it was when his eyes landed on Hinata that the blonde genin let a bit more of his hyperactive personality leak through. "Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed rather loudly, earning an 'eep' from the shy girl before she found herself in a tight, one-armed hug courtesy of the hyperactive blonde. Hinata's face did a very good impression of a tomato, practically glowing red from embarrassment. It was all she could do to merely stay conscious in her current situation.

"I-it's n-nice to s-s-see you, Naruto-kun…" the shy girl mumbled, trying her hardest to not faint. She couldn't decide on whether to be insanely happy or extremely embarrassed, eventually settling on a mixture of the two. Noticing his teammate's current state Shino walked over to the pair before patting Naruto on the back.

"Naruto-san," he started, earning the genin's attention. "I realize that you're happy to see Hinata-san once more, but I would appreciate it if you refrained from hugging her at this moment. It would not be beneficial for us if she lost consciousness as she usually does." Tilting his head in confusion Naruto decided to do as Shino stated, reminding himself that Hinata did have a history of fainting when he hugged her. The teammates of the pair all faceplamed upon realizing that the hyperactive blonde was as clueless as ever.

It was at this moment that the door to the room opened and Team 10 walked in. The trio of genin stopped for a few seconds as they got accustomed to the large quantity of killer intent directed at them before they noticed the rest of the Konoha genin. It didn't take too long for Tatsuo to end up in Ino's clutches when the girl noticed him. "Tatsuo-kun!" the girl exclaimed, hugging the teen's arm tightly. Said Uchiha blushed lightly upon feeling the girl's impressive bosom pressed into his arm but rolled his eyes nonetheless. "I've missed you so much!"

"It's literally been three days since we've seen eachother, Ino…" Tatsuo replied, prompting the girl to stick her tongue out at the black-haired youth and then leaning into him once more.

"So, you three are here too?" questioned Choji, looking over at Team 8 whilst he munched on a few chips. "Now all we need is Team 7 and we'd have the whole gang back together."

Ripping himself out of Ino's grasp, much to her displeasure, Tatsuo motioned for his teammates to follow him. Excusing themselves from the group, the trio moved away from the others for a few moments. "What's up, Tatsuo?" questioned Naruto, his sister leaning in to hear what their friend had to say aswell.

"I don't know if you've noticed…" the Uchiha began, looking around at the room they were in and the numerous desks and seats placed in rows. "But this room seems to be set up for a test." Noticing the inquisitive expressions of his teammates, Tatsuo sighed before explaining his point. "As in a written test."

"What?!" exclaimed Kasumi, surprised at the information. The girl scanned the room they were in and indeed noted that there were rows of desks and chairs. "But…a written test about what?"

"Not a clue…" replied Tatsuo, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. "But it can't be anything easy. If it comes to it, we'll have to cheat our way through it." Earning nods from his teammates, Tatsuo continued to explain his plan to his two teammates.

Once the boy was done explaining he looked at the two Uzumaki expectantly, earning smirks from the both of them. "We can totally handle that," Naruto affirmed, grinning like a madman at the prankster-like plan Tatsuo had come up with. "How long do you think you'll need?"

"Give me around fifteen minutes," answered Tatsuo, confident that he could carry out his part of the plan in that time. Nodding to his teammates he noticed Naruto staring off at something else. Following the blonde's gaze he noticed the red-haired boy with the large gourd on his back. The teen was fair-skinned with short spiky red hair. He was a bit shorter than normal and had sea green eyes. The boy also had the kanji for love painted on the left side of his forehead. He wore a black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, slightly shorter length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. His hitai-ate was tied around the center of his large, sand-made gourd. The boy let off an aura of insanity, which did not sit well with either of them.

"Is that him?" questioned Tatsuo, prompting Kasumi to look at the redhead aswell. Naruto gave a silent nod, his usual smile and excitement absent from his features. "We'll need to watch out for him. How dangerous is he?"

"He didn't seem worried about taking on me, Sakura and Sasuke together when we met him a few days ago…" the orange-clad ninja replied, frowning as he gazed at the boy. "Even the Fox told me to be careful around him…" That was enough to set the three genin on edge. If the Kyubi was worried, even slightly, about the boy then it probably meant trouble."

The three of them snapped their heads around when a commotion broke out behind them. The next few moments seemed like a blur to everyone who witnessed them. The genin of Team 6 saw a white-haired teen in glasses fall to the ground and throw up. Another teen, this one with his face and head covered by bandages, stood over the fallen teen with his left hand adjusting the unusual gauntlet on his right arm. Not a second later white smoke exploded out from the front of the room, a loud gruff voice exploding out from within it. "Alright maggots! Settle down!"

The smoke dispersed to reveal several chunin standing behind the man who'd just spoken. Said man had a large and imposing figure, with slightly tanned skin. He had on a dark grey shirt and black pants. Over these he wore a black trench coat aswell as black fingerless glove. His head was covered by a blue bandana which held a metal plate with the Konoha leaf symbol engraved into it. A pair of diagonal jagged scars ran across his face, one from the top left of his forehead to just below his mouth and another from the bottom of his right eye down to the base of his neck. His piercing black eyes bore holes into everyone present and his killer intent dwarfed that of everyone else present.

"No fighting in this room!" he roared, glaring at the mummy-like teen that stood atop the white-haired genin. "Do so and you 'will' be disqualified!" The genin gave him an apologetic nod before moving back to his comrades. "Alright you little bastards! You've got two minutes to find the desk with your name on it and sit you sorry ass down before I throw you out of this exam!" That got people moving, many of the participants practically running over eachother in an attempt to find their seat.

Once everyone was seated the chunin accompanying the black-wearing man began handing out sheets of paper and pencils. "Alright, listen up…" the man began, his eyes slowly glancing over each of the genin present. "I'm Ibiki Morino and I'll be proctoring the first part of your exams." Once he was sure he'd gained everyone's attention, the man gave everyone a sinister smile before starting to explain the rules of the first test. "All of you have been given a written test which you will have an hour to solve. As you've probably noticed, there are nine questions on this test. A tenth question will be given to you once exactly forty-five minutes have passed."

"You will have until the end of your allotted time to solve as many questions as you can, with five being the minimum amount needed to pass…" upon stating this, he gave everyone present a murderous look. "However, anyone caught cheating will be immediately failed along with their teammates." This earned him several loud responses of 'what' from the genin. "That being said, anyone who fails to answer the questions on this test will also be disqualified along with their teammates." Another set of loud complaints were shouted and ignored by the man as he finished off his explanation. "You have an hour, starting now, to answer the questions on that test. You may begin." As he finished, the sounds of scribbling could be heard throughout the room. The chunin who'd handed out the tests were all seated on either side of the room, their eyes darting from one candidate to the other.

Tatsuo gazed at the questions on the paper in shock. There was no way they expected genin to answer questions like these. Taking a moment to let his eyes wander around the room he noticed several of the genin holding their head or muttering under their breaths. Looking around he also noticed Naruto rubbing the back of his neck. That was the blonde's signal to tell them that he wouldn't be able to answer any of the questions. Gazing over to his far left his eyes landed on Kasumi who was currently chewing on her pencil, her eyes darting over to the both of them every so often.

Taking a deep breath, Tatsuo looked around once more. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the slight glint from ninja wire. Following the length of metal his eyes landed on the bun-haired girl from earlier. He couldn't help himself from shuddering slightling before following the wire in the other direction and finding it connected to a small mirror that was attached to the ceiling. Noticing a few more of the mirrors attached to the roof he realized that the girl was using the ninja wire to position said mirrors so that she could copy the answers off of someone else.

Moving his gaze to the opposite end of the room he found Hinata looking down at her test. A few seconds past and then he noticed it. The shy girl was using the byakugan to ever-so-discreetly copy the answers from those who'd managed to figure out the questions. Deciding that there was no way he'd be able to answer the questions on his own he smirked before narrowing his eyes to lower the chances of anyone spotting his sharingan. Red eyes with spinning black tomoe wasn't really an ordinary sight afterall.

Looking back down at his paper and then around he found one of the genin scribbling down the answers on his sheet. His sharingan spinning wildly and his hand moving in tandem with the boy he was copying, Tatsuo wrote down the answer to one of the questions. He almost yelled out loud as a kunai stabbed into the table of the person behind him after flying past him as one of the chunin watching the candidates stating that the boy was disqualified. The genin from Amegakure, along with his enraged teammates, were forced to leave the room.

Taking another deep breath, Tatsuo decided to keep going. It wasn't like he'd be able to pass with only a single answer. Several minutes went by, the lazy Uchiha silently and cautiously noting down the answers to whatever questions he could. It wasn't until he'd leaned back after flipping his paper over to gaze over at his teammates that he felt the presence of someone beside him. Gazing over at the towering Ibiki Morino next to him, the teen forced himself to take a deep breath. "What can I help you with, Proctor-san?"

Hearing the boy's words made Ibiki smirk. The genin thought that he couldn't see through his façade. He acted calm on the outside but the boy was more than a bit worried on the inside. "Well, you can start by telling me why you seem so calm all of a sudden?" the towering man questioned the boy, glaring down at the genin with a frightening amount of killer intent. Tatsuo gulped audibly, mentally counting down the seconds till Naruto began his part of the plan.

"Well…" the Uchiha began, hoping he wouldn't be disqualified along with his team. A small smile appeared on his face as an idea popped into his head. "You see…I was sitting here wondering how to answer the questions on this test when a magic pixie appeared next to me and told me the answers." A moment of silence passed between the elder man and Tatsuo where the young teen thought he'd screwed up.

"Is that so?" questioned Ibiki, having heard far worse excuses from a certain masked jounin. "What about your teammates? Is the same 'pixie' going to appear for them aswell?"

"You know," Tatsuo began, twirling his pencil in his hand casually as he smiled at the man. "It's funny you should ask that." And then, the room was filled with black smoke that exploded out from underneath several desks around the room. Ibiki didn't move, his vision obscured but his other senses still unhindered. He heard the sound of cutting wind before it was drowned out by the shouts and cries of the candidates and proctors.

A single handseal later and the scarred man was able to see once more, the smoke around him scattering to the sides of the room and escaping outside the open windows thanks to a harsh gust of wind. Bringing his hand back down and gazing at the smiling teen infront of him, the man frowned. "Clever…" he stated, slowly reaching for Tatsuo's paper to examine it. All of the other genin and chunin present were far more stunned than the man. Several of them were looking around in confusion before eventually deciding not to waste any more time and get back to finishing their tests. "Wonder who planted those smoke bombs." Raising the boy's paper up to look at it, the scarred man raised an eyebrow upon seeing the blank spaces for the answers.

"You might need that pixie again…" he stated, putting the paper back down on the boy's desk before smirking and moving on. "By the way, you might want to be a bit faster about putting that kunai away next time…" Tatsuo let out a nervous chuckle before looking down at his empty paper. He smiled as he looked over at Kasumi to see the girl wink at him while slowly sliding his kunai into her weapon pouch. Looking over at his blonde teammate the teen gave the Uzumaki a serene smile to which Naruto nodded with a grin.

A loud cry of outrage came from one of the students sitting next to the blonde, prompting Ibiki to face the boy from where he stood. "Someone swiped my paper!" the genin exclaimed, only to have one of the chunin appear next to him and grab him by the shoulder. The genin was escorted out of the room, along with his stunned teammates. Picking up the pencil on his desk, Tatsuo looked down at his empty paper. Sighing he began filling out the answers he knew once more.

Nearly half an hour later, after a number of genin had been disqualified from the exam, Ibiki cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "As I stated earlier, you will now be given the tenth question…" the man began, every single candidate listening to him with the utmost focus. "Before I do give you the question however, I'd like to explain the rules behind this particular question." Earning puzzled looks from several genin the man took a deep breath before continuing. "If you are to answer this question incorrectly, you will be disqualified from the exams." Several shouts of outrage rang aloud throughout the room, but the man paid them no heed. "Additionally, if you answer the question incorrectly then you will be barred from ever taking part in the Chunin Exams again."

Releasing a large amount of killer intent to silence the obnoxious shouts of the candidates the scarred shinobi finished his explanation. "But, I will allow you the choice of leaving with your teammates before hearing the final question. If you do so, then you will have the opportunity to try again next time." Hearing no complaints on the matter he took a deep breath. "Anyone who wishes to drop out, please raise your hand."

Tatsuo's eyes widened, not knowing if Ibiki was being serious. There was no way he was, was he? Looking over at his teammates he found Kasumi looking around nervously, biting on her pencil once more. Their eyes met and the two immediately turned to look over at their final teammate. Their eyes widened upon seeing Naruto smirking at the proctor. The orange-clad ninja didn't seem at all bothered by the prospect of failing and never being able to take part in the exams again. For a moment, the blonde turned to look at his teammates, a smile present on his features before he turned to look back at the scarred proctor. That single gesture provided the boy's team with enough determination to wipe out all their doubts. Kasumi and Tatsuo looked over at one another before nodding. They wouldn't give up now.

The next few minutes were rather depressing. Dozens of hands were raised, teams slowly trickling out of the spacious room. This continued on until the number of teams were nearly halved. "Is that it?" questioned Ibiki with a raised eyebrow, hoping to put doubt into the hearts of a few others. Unfortunately, it seemed like those that remained would not be deterred. Letting out a helpless sigh the man smiled at those who were left. "In that case…you all pass."

Silence followed the man's words for the next few seconds, before the entire room exploded into a loud symphony of questions. "But what about the tenth question?" someone questioned loudly, prompting Ibiki to give everyone present an feral grin.

"There was no tenth question…" he began, deciding to explain the purpose of the fake tenth question. "The last question was supposed to test your determination and drive. There are times when a ninja may find themselves in enemy hands. It is their duty to keep any information regarding their village and its allies out of the enemy's grasp…" he stated, slowly reaching up to his bandana. "Even under torture."

Just as he was about to remove his bandana, however, a large bundle of cloth crashed through one of the large closed windows, scattering broken fragments of glass everywhere. The bundle of cloth unraveled, kunai launching out from within it to pin the corners of the large banner to the roof and floor. A message was inscribed onto the large piece of cloth that read, _'The Proctor of the Second Exam, The Incredibly Talented and Sexy, Anko Mitarashi!'_

The woman that emerged as the banner unraveled stood proudly infront of said banner, her fists resting on her hips as she looked over the remaining genin. She had dark brown eyes and extremely dark, almost black, violet hair tied into a spiky, fanned pony-tail. Her attire consisted of a mesh bodysuit that stretched down from her neck to her thighs. Over this she wore a dark orange miniskirt with a dark blue belt along with a tan overcoat with grey shin guards and blue shinobi sandals to complete her outfit. Her headband was tied around her forehead and a pendant in the shape of a snake fang hung around her neck. Licking her lips at the sight of the genin she let out an ominous chuckle. At that moment, every single one of the remaining genin felt a chill run down their spines.

* * *

 **Hey! That wasn't too bad was it? Honestly though, this was one of the most annoying chapters to write. Team 6 really isn't built for information gathering. So I went ahead and made it so they used one of the other elements at their disposal. Misdirection! Either way, this is the part of the Exam that I was dreading. More or less because I wasn't sure how I'd get them to cheat. If any of you still didn't get it, I'll explain really quickly.  
**

 **Basically, when the smoke spread throughout the room, Tatsuo and Kasumi attached their respective tests to a pair of kunai (be creative on how they did that, okay) and tossed them to eachother. So they ended up exchanging papers. The only difference being that Tatsuo actually knew what the answers to some of the questions were. Naruto exchanged his paper with someone else without them realizing, under the cover of the smoke.**

 **I know, not the best way to cheat. But Ibiki respected the fact that they did it in a way that pretty much left them completely undiscovered. There was no way, besides the fact that Ibiki is way higher in skill level than them, that they could have been proven to be the people behind the whole smoke bomb thing. Plus, you have to realize that Ibiki lets the people he thinks are good get away with cheating, provided that the way they cheat meets a certain standard. All in all, I really couldn't come up with any way that I could let them cheat discreetly. You can yell at me about it all you want. If someone comes up with a better idea and you guys want me to change it then sure, I'll do it. But at this point, this was all I could come up with.**

 **Overall, I think it was an okay chapter. Not the best thing I've ever written...but definitely not the worst either. So, as always if you have anything to say to me, feel free to PM me or leave it in a review. I'm sorry about not being able to update properly this next month, but I really don't have any choice. Finally, thanks for taking the time to read another one of my chapters. I hope you have a great day ahead!**

 **Tatsuo: And I hope you don't end up drowning in your own work...I really don't want you to leave me alone with Naruto and Kasumi...**

 **Aw, thanks Tatsuo...I think. Well, seeya guys next time...Nya!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Guten Tag everyone! It is I, the lazy and perverted TurboKyubi! What's up? I'm back with another chapter for this story. Today, we shall be moving into the Second Stage of the Chunin Exams! Now, I know I've been gone for a bit but gimme a break, I had exams! Anyways, I'm back for now and I'll try and update once a week again. Once more, noone seemed to have any problems regarding the last chapter or the story so far. That being said, I did receive a few concerns that I will be addressing in this author's note.**

 **First of all, I do plan to finish this story! There is no doubt in my mind that there will be times where I take a break from writing. But I do intend to finish this. So don't fret. It might take a while, but this story will come to a rightful end.**

 **Next up, I also plan on bringing Naruto and Hinata together. But since I hate writing romance because I'm so bad at it, I want to take it slow. The two of them will get together eventually, but it won't be an immediate thing. So for all you guys out there who want to see our hyperactive blonde idiot get together with the shy heiress, you'll have to be patient with me. I really want to pace this story properly and not rush past anything. Plz!**

 **Now! You're here for the story! Not to listen to my dumb babbling! So let's go!**

 **Disclaimer: Oh! I'm checking the files right now guys...yeah! I'm like looking over them as I type this and I CAN confirm that I, infact, DO NOT own Naruto...**

* * *

Chapter 12

There was silence in the large classroom. All the genin who remained stared at the newly arrived woman with either confusion or apprehension. A moment passed before Ibiki poked his head out from behind the large banner, looking annoyed at the kunoichi's entrance. "You're early again, Anko…" the man plainly stated, prompting the purple-haired woman to look at him with a sheepish smile. "And you didn't have to break the window…there was one open right next to it, you know."

"Um…" Anko seemed at a loss for words and just chuckled at her superior's annoyed expression. "Sorry?" Ibiki simply shook his head at the woman's actions before waving his hand for her to continue. "So…thirty two teams, eh? You're getting soft…" the woman stated, letting her eyes scan over the silent group of participants.

"We have some talented individuals this time…" the scarred man retorted as he took a seat in one of the chairs present at the front of the room. "You might be surprised by some of them."

Anko hummed before looking over the chunin-wannabes. "Well, I'll be sure to cut this number by half then!" she exclaimed, with a cheeky grin that prompted the eyes of many in the room to widen. It was at this moment that someone hopped in through the window the pony-tailed woman had recently crashed through. Haku took a few tired breaths before walking up to Anko. The teen was wearing a black turtleneck shirt with long sleeves. He wore baggy black pants, a weapon pouch at his waist and blue shinobi sandals. Over his shirt was a high-collared blue jacket with the zipper open, the sleeves of which ended just before his wrists. His hair hadn't changed too much, although it was slightly shorter now and was held back by the Leaf headband on his forehead.

"Anko-san…" the boy stated, a little out of breath. "Please try and slow down, I can't run halfway across the village as fast as you…" Anko looked over at the boy with a pout before smacking him over the head. "Ow! What was that for?!" the ice-user exclaimed, rubbing his head as he stared at the woman infront of him in confusion.

Anko pointed at the teen in a comedic fashion, staying quiet for several seconds. "Shut up…" Haku's jaw hung open at the simple dismissal from the tokubetsu jounin. Anko chuckled at her charges expression before turning back to face the stunned candidates. She didn't quite understand why the Hokage had assigned her to watch over the boy for the day but he proved entertaining so she wasn't complaining. She was about to speak when she was interrupted by someone else.

"Haku!" exclaimed Kasumi as she happily waved at the teen. Haku chuckled sheepishly and waved back at the hyperactive girl, but flinched when he saw Anko glaring at the girl.

"Alright then…" the tokubetsu jounin began, chuckling under her breath. "I was going to be nice but since Miss Loud and Annoying over there seems so eager to go I guess you all don't need me to go easy on you." Kasumi flinched at all the angry glares directed towards her and nervously rubbed the back of her neck at being called out. "As you all can probably tell, I'm Anko Mitarashi. I'll be the proctor of the Second Exam. You all have ten minutes to get to Training Ground 44! If you aren't there by the end of the allotted time…you fail!" having said her part, the woman proceeded to leap out of another window, sending glass flying into the air once more.

"Anko-san!" Haku exclaimed after her, before noticing that the woman was already out of the Academy grounds. The teen hung his head in defeat and let out a tired sigh. He'd just gotten here too. Looking over at the other members of Team 6, the boy gave them all a smile and wave before leaping out of the room to catch up to the sadistic kunoichi that he was supposed to be helping today.

A moment of stunned silence passed before Ibiki raised an eyebrow from where he sat. "You all going to stay here or…" he didn't have to finish his statement as most of the genin stampeded out of the room. Tatsuo stretched his arms and legs in his seat as he looked around the room. He noted Team 10 still present, besides his teammates. Smiling lazily at Shikamaru he raised his hand. "Hm? What is it? Not going to run off to your next test?" Ibiki questioned, tilting his head slightly as he eyed the six genin present.

"Sure we are…" Tatsuo began, smirking at the scarred jounin. "But first…where's Training Ground 44?"

Around half an hour later and Naruto stretched his arms as he stared up at the towering trees behind the metal fence boundary. "Wow…this is awesome!" the blonde exclaimed, earning a nervous chuckle from his sister and a shrug from his black-haired friend. "Don't tell me you guys aren't excited!" Seeing no form of acknowledgement the Uzumaki boy pouted before crossing his arms. "You guys are no fun sometimes…"

"Just make sure you don't lose that scroll," Tatsuo stated, rotating his arm as he prepared for their next test. Kasumi giggled at her brother's annoyed expression as she stretched her legs to warm up. The Second Exam would basically involve them having to fight another team in order to find a scroll. There were two scrolls, one of which they would be given while they would have to 'procure' the other. Once they had a set, it was a race to the center of the grounds where a large tower was located.

The candidates would have five days to complete the Exam. They were not allowed to open the scrolls or leave the confines of the grounds or else they would be disqualified. "Is no one worried about the fact that this place is called 'The Forest of Death'?" Kasumi questioned nervously.

"If you live in Konoha long enough…" Naruto began with a cheerful smile whilst looking over at his sister. "You get used to stuff like this." Kasumi couldn't help but shudder at the thought of getting used to something like that. What would you have to experience on a regular basis to make you so nonchalant about a place called 'The Forest of Death'? "Anyways, don't worry too much about it. It probably isn't that bad…"

The genin's ears perked up once they heard the speaker next to the gate infront of them buzz to life. "Uh…hello?" a voice buzzed out sounding rather unsure. "Hello? Hello?"

"Is…that Haku?" Kasumi questioned, trying to hold in her laughter. Naruto chuckled at hearing the teen's nervous voice. He wasn't overly social so this was probably a bit difficult for him to do. Tatsuo sighed whilst shaking his head, but even he had a smile on his face.

"Is this thing on?" Haku's voice spoke up again. There was some commotion on the other end before the teen spoke again. "Alright…um, the Second Exam is about to begin. Please finish any preparation you may have to. That being said…you have ten seconds." Team 6 chuckled upon noticing a few of the other teams of genin they could see panic at that and start looking over themselves and arguing with eachother.

"What're the chances we'll run into a team we can beat without too much trouble?" Tatsuo questioned out loud, earning chuckles from his teammates.

"With our luck…we'll probably run into the most powerful ninja here…" Kasumi stated, causing the other two members to break out into laughter. The girl felt a slight chill go down her spine before shrugging it off as nervousness.

"Um...3…2…1…" the voice buzzed to life from the speaker once more, the large gates infront of Team 6 swinging open with a loud metallic clang. "Begin?" And with that unenthusiastic statement, the second part of the Chunin Exams had officially begun. Team 6 didn't waste a second once their gate opened, choosing to speed into the imposing forest and take to the trees.

Hopping from branch to branch, Tatsuo took the lead with his sharingan spinning wildly as he kept an eye out for any opposition. Kasumi followed after him, her eyes darting around to catch anything that her black-haired teammate may have missed. Finally, Naruto brought up the rear while making sure to keep his senses focused on anything odd behind them. "We'll head for the tower for now, see if we can find anyone on the way there…" Tatsuo stated. "We don't want to be too far from the tower once we get a full set. Plus, I'm sure there's going to be a few teams that'll just camp around the thing so it'll be annoying to try and get past them later on."

"You sound worried!" Naruto exclaimed over the sound of the rushing wind as he landed on a thick branch before leaping off to another.

"This could be dangerous, Big Brother!" Kasumi chided the blonde, earning an annoyed 'humph' from him in return. "We might be strong but we still need to be careful."

A few hours passed and Team 6 slowed their pace down during that time. It wouldn't do them any good to be tired during any encounter with an enemy team afterall. Coming to a stop on a thick branch, the three genin stopped to take a small break. "You know…I'd honestly thought we'd have run into someone by now…" Naruto stated, scratching his head whilst leaning against the trunk of the tree.

"So did I…" Tatsuo stated as his eyes returned to normal. He needed to conserve as much chakra as he could. "But I guess we misjudged the size of this place."

"I'd rather get closer to the tower before we fight someone though…" Kasumi stated, with her arms crossed behind her head. "I'd feel better knowing that we wouldn't have to fight too many other teams to protect our scrolls."

"Guess that's true…" Naruto stated as he pushed himself upright before stretching his arms out above him. "But I've been itching for someone to fight for the entire day! First the written exam and now this! I wish we'd just get to the fighting bit already…"

At that moment, there was a low sound. A near-silent metallic ring that did not belong in the forest. Tatsuo's eyes widened before they morphed into the sharingan once more. "Move!" the Uchiha shouted in alarm, prompting his teammates to hop off in various directions. Naruto winced as a small cut appeared on his cheek, a drop of blood slowly dripping down his skin. "Damn…that was close…" Tatsuo mumbled under his breath as his eyes moved around to try and find any other hidden enemies.

Several kunai rocketed towards the boy, forcing him to leap to another branch lest he end up skewered. "Tatsuo!" Kasumi called to the boy, only to have to duck under several shuriken that were sent spinning towards her. The girl's eyes narrowed when they landed on someone. The boy was taller than her and probably a year or two older. He had messy brown hair with slightly tanned skin and dark eyes. His attire consisted of a black vest over a grey sleeveless shirt, along with baggy grey pants and shinobi sandals. The genin also had a weapon pouch attached to each thigh.

"Kasumi!" Tatsuo yelled to the redhead, gaining her attention in an instant. "Move!" His words reached the girl a second before she moved out of the way of a sword blade. Looking over to her left, the red-haired genin's eyes widened as she gazed upon the semi-transparent girl that stood on the same branch as her. The girl had long black hair tied into a long ponytail with fair skin and bright blue eyes. She wore a tight black shirt with a black vest and baggy black pants. On the back of her waist, positioned parallel to the ground was a short sheathe for a tanto. The weapon was currently gripped tightly in her left hand.

"You missed twice…" another voice stated, causing the members of Team 6 to jerk their heads upwards. Another genin sat crouched on one of the higher branches above them. The teen, like his teammates, was probably a year or two older than them. He had black hair that fell down over his forehead and slightly darker skin. His dull black eyes gazed at the three Konoha genin and a smile played across his face. The teen wore a black vest like his teammates with a short-sleeved grey shirt underneath. He also wore dull grey pants and blue shinobi sandals. A weapon pouch was attached to his left thigh. "What? Are you nervous or something?" According to the headbands the three ninja wore on their arms, they were a team from the Village Hidden in the Clouds, Kumogakure.

"If it weren't for that damn Uchiha, I'd have nailed atleast two of them by now…" the black-haired girl spoke out loud, her voice rather annoyed as she focused her gaze on Kasumi. "Let's not waste too much time. I'll take the wannabe kunoichi…" Her words were punctuated by a swing of her sword before she began to shimmer and disappear.

"Kasumi!" Naruto shouted out as he attempted to aid his sister, only to hop to the side so that he could avoid the descending blade of a tomahawk. The black-haired enemy genin landed on the same branch as the blonde Uzumaki, before standing up straight and gently leaning his weapon on his shoulder.

"Not going to happen…" he stated with a smirk on his face as he faced off against the Konoha shinobi. Tatsuo cursed under his breath before spinning around to block the bladed edge of a kunai with his own. He gazed into his opponent's eyes with his swirling sharingan and smirked. The brown-haired ninja froze for a second and that was all Tatsuo needed. Twisting around, he stabbed the teen in his side, only for the enemy genin to turn to water right infront of him.

Narrowing his eyes, Tatsuo ducked under the horizontal swing of a kunai. Spinning around on his branch, he sent a hard kick at his attacker that was blocked by the brunette's arm. The Kumo shinobi pushed the offending leg aside and attempted to impale the Uchiha with his kunai. Acting swiftly, Tatsuo hopped off the branch sideways whilst sending the kunai in his hand sailing towards the surprised teen. Standing up straight once he landed, his gaze landed on his opponent who was currently fingering a small cut on his cheek.

"You're good…" the brown-haired ninja complimented. "Better than a bunch of the losers I've seen in this Exam atleast." The boy smirked upon seeing Tatsuo pull out another kunai, holding it in a tight reverse-grip in his right hand. "Not going to help your friends?"

"I won't be able to do them any good if I don't deal with you first…" the black-haired member of Team 6 retorted, bringing his left hand up in a lazy fashion. "That being said, I really don't have the time to waste on you." And with that, he lunged at his opponent.

Kasumi muttered curses under her breath as her eyes darted around in search of any sign of her opponent. The girl utilized some sort of technique that rendered her invisible in a way. She'd already managed to land a few hits on the red-haired Uzumaki, several cuts on her person proof of that fact. Hearing a soft thump behind her, Kasumi jumped off of her branch. Flipping through the air, however, she ran through a familiar set of handseals before her cheeks puffed outwards. " **Water Style: Wild Water Wave!** " she exclaimed, sending forth a torrent of water from her mouth that collided with the branches and trees infront of her.

Landing on another branch, the girl looked up to try and find her enemy. Her eyes scanned over her surroundings yet found nothing to indicate that she'd hit her opponent. A loud clang caught her attention and her head darted upwards. Her eyes landed on her brother who was using a kunai to hold back the black-haired Kumo shinobi's axe. She didn't have time to do anything else before she found herself being stabbed from behind. A blade erupted from her stomach causing her to freeze. She heard someone chuckle behind her before a smirk spread across her face.

The Kumo Kunoichi let out a loud 'what' upon seeing the girl she'd just impaled disappear in a puff of smoke. She didn't have any time to react before she found herself on the receiving end of a vicious drop kick that collided with her skull. The next thing she knew, she was descending towards the forest floor at alarming speeds. Letting out a low groan, she spun in midair and managed to plant her feet solidly against the trunk of a tree, using chakra to stop her descent. Holding her head with a single hand, she tried to numb the pain in her skull.

She wasn't given any time to rest however as she was assaulted by several copies of her red-haired opponent. The first clone of the girl caught the enemy kunoichi off guard, smashing its elbow into the girl's stomach and causing her to stumble backwards on the vertical surface. The second copy took no time to follow up the first's attack, darting around its fellow clone and smashing a rising knee into the unaware kunoichi's gut. The strike earned her a gasp from her opponent as the girl's tanto fell from her grasp and tumbled towards the forest floor, while her hands instinctively went to clutch her paining stomach.

Gritting her teeth at the pain surging through her body, the Kumo ninja brought an arm up to fend off a brutal roundhouse kick from one of the clones infront of her before latching onto the outstretched leg with her other hand. With a loud grunt, she pulled the red-haired clone forward and into her punch. Ignoring the puff of white smoke that followed her attack, she sidestepped an uppercut from the second clone before smashing a palm into the side of the girl's head. An instant after she'd dispersed the second clone another attempted to dive into her from one of the higher branches.

Ducking under the descending missile that was the Konoha genin, she leapt off the vertical surface of the large tree onto another. Her hands running through a few quick handseals, she looked up to see a few more red-haired clones leaping towards her. A smirk appeared upon her features as her hands lit up with crackling blue arcs of electricity. Spreading her stance to gain better balance, the black-haired kunoichi brought her hands up in preparation for the oncoming clones.

Ducking under the spinning kick of one of the clones, she smashed a palm into the copy's chest. Having dispersed the first of the attacking clones, she spun around and caught a punch, dispersing her attacker due to her electrified hands. Not slowing down in the least, she darted forward to smash her fist into the gut of another clone. Transitioning into a low sweeping kick, she barely missed another clone as it hopped over her attack and attempted to smash its fist into her face. Switching into a rising uppercut, she managed to destroy the clone before it was able to land its attack, only for the red-haired copy to burst into water. Her eyes widened as the water acted as a conductor for her charged hands, sending jolts through her body before she managed to deactivate her jutsu. In her predicamant, the Kumo ninja didn't notice the red-haired girl closing in on her from behind.

The clone rushed up behind the blue-eyed kunoichi, swiftly smashing its elbow into the kunoichi's unprotected back. A pained groan escaped the raven-haired ninja's lips as she stumbled forward, barely managing to keep her feet stuck to the tree trunk. Her half-lidded eyes just about caught the sight of the redhead infront of her before she was struck hard in the side of her head by a spinning kick. Vision swimming, she lost focus on her chakra and fell off the side of the large tree. The last thing she was aware of before her world faded into black was a hand gripping onto her wrist tightly, saving her from the grim fate of death due to collision against the forest floor.

A little distance away from Kasumi's battle, Naruto enthusiastically engaged his own opponent. Parrying a strike from the black-haired shinobi's weapon, he sent a right hook straight towards the youth's unprotected face. Clipping the boy's nose with his fist as his opponent backed up, the blonde ducked under the returning swing of his opponent's tomahawk. Noticing a few strands of his hair fluttering down infront of him, he frowned before spinning around and swinging his kunai in a wide arc, forcing the enemy ninja to back away.

Taking the chance to form a few handseals, he felt the air around him shift. "Wind Style: Air Bullets!" his words were followed by several small spheres of compressed wind launching towards his opponent. Seeing the incoming threat, the black-haired teen leapt off of his current branch, barely avoiding the speeding projectiles. He was followed closely by the Konoha shinobi, both landing on the same branch and rushing towards one another once again.

Ducking under the black-haired shinobi's horizontal swing, Naruto smashed his fist into the boy's chest, forcing the air out of him. Taking advantage of the opening he'd made, her proceeded to smash another punch into the teen's torso, his opponent letting out a loud shout of pain upon receiving the hits. Bringing his right arm up, the blonde Uzumaki blocked the Kumo shinobi's arm but ended up receiving brutal knee to his gut that had him holding his stomach. Looking up just in time to see his opponent swing his axe, the hyperactive ninja fell to his right, off of the branch and flipped sideways a few times to land on a lower one.

Rolling to the side to avoid his opponent's descending axe, he formed a single handseal and found himself accompanied by a pair of clones. Charging at his black-haired enemy, the orange-clad ninja let his clones take the lead. The two blonde copies rushed his opponent, leaping upwards to try and smash their fists into his head. They missed their target as he stepped back to avoid the strikes, only for the real Naruto to flip over them and try to nail the teen with a drop kick. The blonde missed once more as his opponent backed up before rushing towards him with his tomahawk pulled back. Naruto smirked as his clones rushed around him, one moving ahead of the other. The first of the two clones dodged a diagonal strike, only to receive a spinning kick to the head. The second clone attacked with a kunai, parrying the first strike from the enemy ninja before it was dispersed due to a speeding punch.

The real Naruto sidestepped an overhead strike from the dark-haired youth, once the teen had reached him, sending a punch towards the genin's exposed face. He was blocked, however, by the genin's other hand. The blonde prankster smiled in response, latching onto the front of his opponent's vest in one swift move before spreading his legs into a wider stance. The other ninja didn't have time to react before he was flung off the branch and towards the trunk of a tree. Naruto's smile didn't falter one bit once he saw the axe-using boy correct himself mid-flight so that he landed in a crouch against the thick trunk.

"Damn…" the teen muttered as he stared up at the orange-clad genin. "What are you? A masochist?" His question earned him a chuckle from the Konoha shinobi.

"I wouldn't be completely against the idea if my opponent was a cute girl…" Naruto replied, letting out a small chuckle at the idea. His opponent raised an eyebrow, before chuckling at the blonde's words aswell. "So…what scroll you guys got?"

"Heaven…" the black-haired Kumo ninja replied, twirling his tomahawk casually as he gazed up at his opponent.

"Sweet!" Naruto exclaimed out loud, a grin on his face as he stretched his arms. "That means we can head to the tower after this!"

"You seem pretty confident…" the elder shinobi stated, tilting his head with a smirk on his face. "Unfortunately, we're going to be the one's leaving here with a full set."

Naruto didn't reply, choosing to simply grin and form his signature handseal. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** " the hyperactive blonde announced, suddenly being surrounded by a dozen copies of himself. His opponent's eyes widened in surprise, before his grip on his weapon tightened. "You think you can keep up?!"

The first clone that closed in on the Kumo ninja found itself on the receiving end of a brutal kick. Dispersing in smoke, the blond replica was replaced by two others. The first of the two copies jumped up to strike with a downward blow while the other ducked low and struck with a straight punch. "Shit!" the Kumo ninja cursed, not being able to dodge either of the two strikes properly. The first punch smashed into his jaw and the next impacted painfully with his stomach. Each hit sent a wave of pain through the youth's body and made his vision swim.

Stumbling backwards, the black-haired youth let out a low growl before dashing forward and slashing through one of the clones. Dispersing the first into smoke, he leapt off the tree trunk to avoid a new pair. Landing on another branch, the genin attached his axe to a hook on his belt. Running through a series of handsigns whilst spinning around to face the oncoming clones, he smirked as his arms lit up with blue lightening. " **Lightening Style: Skip Charge!** "

The bright blue lightening encompassing the genin's limbs launched off in an arcing bolt, colliding with the first blonde clone. The clone let out a loud grunt of pain before it dispersed, as the electricity hopped off of it and onto the next. The black-haired Kumo ninja smirked at the sight, as his technique annihilated all of the replicas. His eyes darted over to the original, only for them to widen as he was suddenly pushed off of his branch by a harsh gust of wind. Smashing back-first into the trunk of a tree, several cuts being left by the sharp gusts of wind on his body, the boy dropped down onto a low branch. His head rose up once more as he glared at the blonde teen, noting that said blonde was barely winded.

He heard a loud cry of pain, before his brown-haired teammate landed on another branch near him, a deep cut running across his back. The boy seemed exhausted, with blood covering the side of his face. Tatsuo landed next to his blonde teammate, a kunai twirling on his index finger. The Uchiha had a single shallow cut on his arm, where a blade had probably sliced through his clothing and into his skin. "So…you guys done yet?" Naruto questioned, smirking at the two beaten and bruised genin.

Realizing that they were outmatched, the two Kumo ninja looked over to eachother, sharing a subtle nod. Noting, however, that their third teammate was absent the two let their eyes dart around to try and find the last member of their team. "Looking for someone?" Kasumi questioned, landing next to her teammates along with a clone carrying the unconscious Kumo kunoichi. "She doesn't have the scroll…" the girl whispered over to her teammates, earning nods from the two teens.

"You mind handing over the scroll now?" Tatsuo spoke up. Receiving no form of response from the two boys, the Uchiha let out a sigh before moving over to place the bladed edge of his kunai against the enemy kunoichi's neck. "I'm being serious right now. Hand over the scroll…"

"You wouldn't…" the tomahawk-wielding genin stated with his eyes focused on the black blade that was a hair's breath away from his friend's throat. He could feel his brown-haired comrade's eyes on him, awaiting his decision. "You don't have it in you…"

Tatsuo frowned, slowly pressing the sharp edge of his weapon against the unconscious girl's skin. A single bead of blood escaped the minuscule cut that his kunai had made. "If you think I'm not going to kill her then you're dead wrong. Killing her will make it easier to hunt you two down and take the scroll by force." A small pained groan escaped the girl's lips as Tatsuo slowly pressed the edge of the blade deeper into her throat, another drop of blood escaping the wound.

"Fine!" the black-haired teen yelled out. Removing a scroll from within the confines of his vest. "Just stop, okay…"

"Toss it over here…" Naruto stated, holding his hand out. "Don't try anything or you might end up regretting it…" The enemy shinobi frowned before throwing the scroll over to the blonde ninja. Naruto caught the scroll and looked over it, making sure that it was indeed what they were after. "We're good…" he muttered over to Tatsuo.

Forming a familiar handseal, a clone of himself appeared next to the Uchiha. "We'll be leaving now…" the boy announced as he pocketed his kunai. "I'll leave a clone here to make sure you two don't try anything." Allowing the clone to take his place in holding the kunai up to the girl's neck, the teen nodded over to his teammates. The members of Team 6 took to the treetops, bounding across the branches towards the center of the enormous forest.

"That went well!" Kasumi exclaimed cheerfully, prompting Tatsuo to roll his eyes at her high spirits. "Atleast we didn't run into some really tough ninja!"

"I mean…" Tatsuo began, smiling lazily as he thought about it. "This place is pretty big and most of the people here are probably no higher than chunin…barring a few exceptions. I doubt we'd run into anyone too dangerous here unless we avidly tried to look for them." His words earned him nods from his teammates as they bounced from branch to branch.

Naruto put his hands behind his head for a few moments as he pouted at nothing in particular. "To be honest, I was hoping we'd get to fight some strong people…" his voice held a hint of disappointment as he spoke. "We're already in the second stage and all we've gotten is one team of ninja."

"Don't go around wishing for trouble, Big Brother!" Kasumi yelled over to the boy as the two siblings stayed behind Tatsuo. "You might end up biting off more than you can chew!"

"Come on, Kasumi!" Naruto retorted, pouting at his sister. "It's like Tatsuo said! Most of the candidates probably aren't even that dangerous!"

"Drop your guard and you might aswell be facing off against a jounin, you idiot…" Tatsuo shouted back, prompting his blonde friend to stick his tongue out at the back of the Uchiha's head. "Anyways, we've been moving and switching routes for the past ten minutes. I think we're good to hunker down and get some rest…"

"You sure those guys won't catch up to us?" Naruto questioned, tilting his head as the trio came to a halt on one of the higher branches.

"Honestly, they probably could…" Tatsuo began, dropping down to a lower branch as his team followed him to the forest floor. "But with one of their teammates unconscious and the other two more than a little injured and tired…I doubt they'd be dumb enough to try and chase after us." Having finished his explanation and landed on the grassy ground, the black-haired teen looked around to try and find a suitable place to rest.

"There's a hollow space in the bases of a few of these trees…we could probably hide there…" Kasumi suggested. The redhead smiled upon seeing her teammates nod at her words. "How about that one?" she stated, pointing over to the empty space in the base of a large tree.

"Sure…" Naruto replied, crossing his arms behind his head and casually walking over to their decided resting place. The genin entered the hollow and looked around. It wasn't too big, but it was large enough for the three of them to sit comfortably in. "So…are we just chilling here or what?"

Tatsuo sent his blonde friend an exasperated glare before taking a seat and leaning against the wooden walls of the structure. "I don't know if you've noticed…" he stated before pointing at the cut on his arm and the various cuts on Kasumi's person. "But we don't have the insane healing you do. So I'd really like to close this thing up before we get moving again."

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck at the annoyed expressions of his teammates, Naruto retrieved the scroll he usually kept attached to his waist. Tossing it over to his black-haired comrade, he sat down and leaned back against the cool wooden walls. Kasumi sat down aswell, looking over herself to find a few cuts present on her arms and one on her thigh, none too serious. She looked up when a small puff of smoke appeared, her eyes landing on the rolls of bandages and plastic containers that Tatsuo had just unsealed from a storage seal on her brother's scroll.

"Here you go, Kasumi…" Tatsuo called over to the girl, tossing her one of the rolls of cloth and a small container. "Use that ointment to dress your wounds and then wrap them with the bandages." He smiled at the girl before removing his hoodie so that he could access the cut on his arm more freely. The cut wasn't too deep, but it was definitely nothing to laugh at. He chided himself for losing focus in his fight upon looking over the injury but decided there wasn't much he could do about it now. Opening one of the containers, he dipped two fingers in and scooped out some of the grey cream-like substance before applying it on his cut. He couldn't help but wince at the slight sting he felt upon doing so.

"Well, I guess we can head to the tower after this then," Naruto stated, staring up at the curved roof of their little hideout. "You guys think we'll have to fight anyone on the way there?"

"I wouldn't count on it, since it hasn't even been a day yet…" Tatsuo answered as he began wrapping his cut. Kasumi let out a brief hiss as she finished dressing one of the deeper cuts on her arm before nodding at her teammate's words. "We probably got really lucky in getting a team this early on…and with the right scroll to boot. But who knows…"

Having finished looking after his own wound, the black-haired boy looked over to see Kasumi struggling with wrapping the injuries on her arms. Sighing out loud, he mumbled something about this exam being too much work before moving over to help the girl. "To be honest, I really don't want to keep going in this thing…" he spoke out loud, earning puzzled looks from his friends.

"Why not?" Kasumi questioned, wincing slightly as the boy tightened the bandage around a few of her cuts.

"Because it's too much effort…" Tatsuo replied, inwardly smirking upon seeing his teammates facefault. "But seeing as you two are so into it, I guess I'll stick around for a little longer."

It was at this moment that the three genin's heads jerked around as a loud scream pierced through the, otherwise, calm silence of the forest. "Was that…?" Naruto muttered as he hopped to his feet and peered out of the entrance to their hollow in search of any enemies.

"Sakura…" Tatsuo confirmed, slowly running his hand through his hair to calm himself. "I'm going to assume she's in trouble. And if that's the case…"

"We need to go help…right?" Kasumi stated, looking over at the other two members of Team 6.

"I told you not to jinx us…" Tatsuo muttered whilst sending an annoyed glare at his blonde teammate, before rising to his feet along with Kasumi. The two exited the hollow after their blonde teammate before looking around. "It sounded pretty close…did you manage to catch which direction it came from?"

"I'm pretty sure it was from that way…" Naruto stated, looking over to their right. "Probably…"

"Hey…" Kasumi halted the other two from rushing off as she spoke up. "What are the chances we'll run into someone really dangerous?" she questioned, a nervous smile on her face. Naruto and Tatsuo both looked at eachother, before letting out matching groans. "That bad, huh?" Kasumi finished, her head dropping in resignation. It seemed like Team 6 were destined to end up running into more trouble than they could ever want.

* * *

 **And cliffhanger! Yay! I'm going to go ahead and assume you guys can guess what'll happen next chapter. If not then...look forward to it, I guess! Anyways, if you wanna ask me anything, feel free to do so. I'll try and explain things to the best of my ability. Oh, and feel free to offer up any advice you can think up, whether it be about the story itself or just my style of writing. Always room for improvement and all that.**

 **Also, I'll try and update again next week, but as of now...well enjoy this chapter to the fullest. Anyways, not much else to say so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thanks again for taking the time out of your day to read it. Seeya next time! Nya!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hiya everyone! Dang, looks like I missed out on the chance to wish everyone a Merry Christmas...eh who cares, I'll do it anyways! Merry Christmas! Hope you're all having a great time. Happy holidays! Spend time with your friends, family, or even with your phones, computers or whatever you want to...just enjoy yourselves!**

 **As always, I'm back with another chapter for this story. This time, things are going to be heating up. What awaits our heroes in this accursed forest? Let's stop listening to my ramblings and find out, shall we? Here we go!**

 **Disclaimer: Yup! I still don't own Naruto...guess I'll just settle for this story eh?**

* * *

Chapter 13

Sakura knelt next to her unconscious teammate, her eyes wide as tears rolled down her cheeks. A terrifying fear gripped her heart, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably. Her hair was a mess and her skin was covered with cuts and bruises, yet her eyes remained glued onto the scene before her. Sasuke Uchiha lay motionless next to the terrified kunoichi, an eerie black marking present upon his left shoulder in the form of three tomoe. The Uchiha's clothes were in slight disarray, having several tears present in them while several scratches and cuts marred his skin.

Ahead of the two stood Sai, the final member of Team 7. The boy's skin was littered with bruises as he protected his teammates from their opponent. In his left hand he held his tanto, the handle gripped tightly as he pointed the weapon at the man infront of him. The boy knew, however, that any effort he could put in was futile. Their enemy at the moment was far too superior for him to have any hope of defeating.

The enemy the boy faced was one of Konoha's most infamous missing ninja. The man was tall, with pale skin and waist-length black hair with his front strands falling just past his shoulders. He had a slender face with slitted golden eyes, surrounded by purpled markings, and fang-like teeth. His attire consisted of grey garbs with a black long-sleeved shirt underneath, aswell as black pants and shinobi sandals. A thick purple rope belt was also tied around his waist, tied into a large knot behind his back. A pair of blue earings hung from his ears aswell and a sinister smile adorned his face as he stared at the three before him. This man was none other than Orochimaru, one of the three legendary Sanin.

A chuckle escaped the man as he crossed his arms. "I expected no less from someone trained by Danzo…" he stated, prompting Sai to narrow his eyes at the man. "You prove to be amusing. And your abilities intrigue me greatly…" The man took a step towards the teen, that single action enough to set the young genin on edge. "Show me more..."

Sai didn't let any emotion show on his face, choosing to remain calm in the situation as he'd been trained to do. Sheathing his blade in an instant his free hand retrieved a brush from the satchel at his waist. A second later and the scroll on his hip lay unraveled upon his knee as a small compartment popped out of the wooden frame, black ink rippling within it. Dipping his brush into the ink, the black-haired teen swiped his brush over the scroll, his hand a flurry of strokes. An instant later, several lions leapt out of the scroll, solely comprised of ink and taking the appearance of something from an ancient painting.

Not giving his opponent any leeway, he swiped his brush back over his scroll, making sure to not let the missing ninja out of his sight. By the time the lions had reached the sanin, several more leapt out of the boy's scroll and rushed towards the man. Orochimaru didn't bat an eyelash, simply stepping aside to avoid the pouncing form of the first animated creature. His smile widened as he gazed upon the creature as it passed him by before stepping back to avoid another one. "Fascinating…" he muttered, before smashing an elbow into one of the attacking lions. Noticing them turning into ink once more, he let out a thoughtful 'hum' before suddenly vanishing.

Sai's eyes widened before the rest of his creations burst into ink, splashing lifelessly to the ground. He didn't have the time to react as the sanin appeared infront of him, a step away. "Show me more…" he stated, a menacing grin spreading across his face. An instant later and he leapt backwards, a flock of ink-made birds darting towards him at alaming speeds. His maniacal smile widened as he landed, forming a single handseal before the birds were annihilated by a gust of harsh wind that whipped through the small clearing.

The moment the winds died down, a group of black snakes leapt up at the long-haired man from around him, their inky jaws intent on clamping down on his skin. They didn't get far before being destroyed, Orochimaru barely having moved from his place. Another flock of white birds circled around him, prompting his eyes to widen slightly at the sight of the tags attached to their feet. A second later and the man was engulfed in a monstrous explosion that rang aloud through the otherwise silent forest.

Not allowing himself to let his guard down for a second, Sai let his eyes gaze upon the smoke that rose from where the sanin had stood merely moments ago. He couldn't tell if he'd managed to catch the man by surprise or not. His thoughts were put to rest a second later as he felt someone appear behind him. Jerking around, he found himself facing the maniacal face of the Snake Sanin. Leaping backwards, he let out a pained grunt as blood trailed behind him, courtesy of the gash in his side.

Landing on his feet, he knelt on the ground with his scroll still infront of him. His grip on the brush in his right hand tightened. "What an interesting ability…" Hearing a muffled yelp from behind him, Orochimaru sent a glance towards the other two members of Team 7. He sent a sinister grin towards the pink-haired girl, before turning back around to look at Sai. With a single swipe of his hands, the incoming lion erupted into a shower of black. "But alas, I've grown bored…" Bringing his hand up to point at the wounded genin, he smirked. "I'll be k-"

" **Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!** " a voice roared. Orochimaru brought up an arm to shield his eyes whilst using chakra to remain rooted in place. The gust of wind was followed by a searing heat, prompting the man's eyes to widen. A fiery explosion ensued, burning any life around the man to ashes as he was engulfed in flames. Kasumi landed next to Sai, kneeling down to help the boy whilst Naruto landed besides her. Tatsuo landed next to Sakura, prompting the girl to jerk her head towards him. The black-haired member of Team 6 had never seen the young kunoichi look so relieved.

He smiled at her reassuringly, hoping that he'd be able to calm her down. His eyes widened however, along with the other genin present, when laughter filled the air. His head snapping to his right, the teen stared shocked as the Snake Sannin arose from the ground, pulling himself out of the shifting ground. "How lucky of me…" the man mused rather loudly. "I was just about to come find you, Tatsuo-kun."

Retrieving a single kunai from his weapon pouch, Tatsuo looked back at Sakura and his unconscious clansman with worry. "Sakura…" he began, shifting his gaze back onto the current threat. "I need you to take Sasuke and Sai. Take them and get out of here." Receiving nothing but incoherent mumbling from the girl, the Uchiha sighed in frustration. "Sakura! I know you're scared right now…but I need you to work with me here!"

"B-b-bu-" the girl tried to argue, but froze upon seeing her former classmate's tense expression. She'd never seen the lazy teen so serious before. Giving the boy a slow nod, she slowly rose up on shaky legs. Tatsuo turned back to face Orochimaru, who at this point was eyeing him with a rather worrying gaze. Gritting his teeth, the genin tightened his grip on the kunai in his hand. He knew perfectly well who his team was facing. He also knew how slim their chances of survival were against an opponent of Orochimaru's level. But they'd have to hold off against him now that they'd gotten his attention…atleast until they could safely escape.

"You alright, Sai?" Naruto asked to the teen behind him, earning a week nod from the boy. "Good. Because you're going to have to be. I need you to go with the rest of your team while we hold off this bastard, okay?" Forming a single handseal, a few clones of the blonde appeared behind him. "These guys will help you out until they're dispersed…"

"Do you even know who you're facing?" Sai spoke up, his voice shaky but still questioning. "That's Orochimaru. One of the Sannin." The teen rose to his feet with the aid of Naruto's clones. "There's no chance of any of you even scratching him…"

Naruto sent the teen a reassuring glance before turning back to face the golden-eyed shinobi. "Yeah…" he muttered, just loud enough for both his sister and Sai to hear. "You're probably right. But if it's to protect my friends…I'm willing to put down my life." Waving off any other questions the boy might have had, Naruto motioned for his clones to get going. Sai didn't protest any further, simply sending a glance over at the other members of Team 6. The last thing he noted before he and the clones took to the trees was the determined faces of his fellow genin as they faced off against one of the most dangerous ninja in the world.

"Are they going to be okay, Sai?" Sakura questioned as they leapt through the forest. Sai looked over at the girl, noting Sasuke being carried over the shoulder of one of the clones. "That was Orochimaru back there…"

"Logically…they're all probably going to die…" the emotionless boy replied, earning a gasp from his pink-haired teammate. "But right now…I'm not sure if they will…I can't explain why I think that's the case but…It's just a feeling." His eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what exactly it was that he was feeling. One thing he was sure of, however, was that Team 6 would need a miracle to survive.

Orochimaru watched Team 7 escape with a content smirk. He had no reason to give chase, having completed what he'd set out to do in regards to them. His current objective revolved around the three teens before him, one of them being an Uchiha and the other two holders of the Nine-tailed Fox. The man crossed his arms across his chest as he gazed at the three genin, wondering how they planned on fighting him.

Tatsuo took a deep breath, his grip on the kunai in his hand tightening before he looked over at his blonde teammate and gave him a subtle nod. Naruto, for once, was serious. There was not a single trace of playfulness present on his face, a stark contrast to how he'd acted a little while ago. The blonde Uzumaki saw Tatsuo's discreet nod and brought his hands up into a familiar handseal. " **Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!** " the boy muttered, his chakra visibly shaping around him for a second before the clearing was blanketed in white smoke. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow as the smoke obscured his vision before ducking to avoid a spinning kick that passed over his head. Sidestepping a drop kick from another clone the sannin smirked before ramming his palms into the torsos of the two blonde copies.

Stepping sideways to avoid descending elbow strike, the golden-eyed man smashed his knee into the clone's face. Looking around at the dozens of clones the clearing white smoke had revealed, the man gave an amused smile. He stayed motionless as a group of blondes rushed at him from every direction, doing nothing to prepare for their oncoming assault. The clones were a few steps away from the man, a few leaping up to attack him with high strikes, when they saw the vicious smirk on his face. A moment later and all the clones were brutally destroyed as a large snake erupted from the ground beneath them, coiling protectively around the crouched sannin who had his hand pressed flat against the ground.

The eyes of the clones widened upon seeing the beast that had emerged before them. An enormous black serpent with slitted golden eyes that darted from one copy to the other as its forked tongue periodically poked out of its mouth. Orochimaru stood calmly as he grinned at the army of clones, the oversized reptile he'd summoned obediently awaiting his command. "Such a powerful technique…" Orochimaru mused out loud, bringing a hand up to move a strand of loose hair back behind his ear. "I wonder how you obtained it…"

The man didn't have a chance to finish his thoughts as a group of clones encircled him, forming handseals with practiced ease. " **Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!** " the blondes roared, their chests puffing outwards before the snake summoner found himself on the receiving end of a gale of slicing winds. With a quick wave, the man ordered his summons to protect him, the snake coiling around him to form a protective tower.

The snake sannin did not, however, notice the black-haired teen high in the trees above him as he puffed out his chest. He only had a second to react when he felt the heat before the forest floor of the clearing became a raging inferno, most of the Naruto clones leaping backwards to avoid the blazing flames. Tatsuo sat crouched on his perch, his sharingan eyes glued onto where his enemy had been. The wind-powered flames died down to reveal the scorched ground, all life having been reduced to ash. In the center of the desemated land was the charred and blackened corpse of the large serpent their opponent had summoned. However, there was no sign of the summoner himself.

"How dangerous…" a voice whispered in Tatsuo's ear, the boy's eyes widening instinctively at the near-silent words spoken. The teen was barely able to jerk his head to the side before he felt someone bite down on his neck. Orochimaru frowned after attempting to mark his target, the boy having switched with a log a second before he'd been able to do so. His ears twitched upon hearing a loud roar-like noise, prompting him to leap off his current branch in order to avoid the pressurized stream of water that smashed into the branch a second later.

Landing on another branch, the sannin extended his arm towards the approaching Kasumi clones. A large snake extended out of his sleeve, speeding towards the incoming clones with its maw wide. The first clone of the red-haired girl met a gruesome end as the serpent's fangs sunk into her shoulder. Orochimaru smirked before jerking his arm slightly, prompting the serpent to twist around and wrap around the second clone and lunge towards the last. Tightening around the caught clone, the snake dispersed the captured clone before its fangs dug into the final fleeing clone. The clones barely had any time to understand what had happened, being destroyed in the span of a few seconds.

Orochimaru's attention shifted over to the Naruto clones leaping towards him from all around. The snake he'd summoned puffed away in a cloud of white smoke and he formed a single handseal. A burst of wind pulsed outward, slamming into the attacking clones and destroying them. His eyes widened as he suddenly found himself constricted by ninja wire. He looked up just in time to see Naruto finish running through a series of handseals before a number of spheres of condensed air crashed into him.

Tatsuo and his clone looked over from either side of the sannin, only to see a mutilated structure made out of mud lying on the branch. A second later and the branches behind the three genin splintered as a colossal snake emerged. Tatsuo's eyes widened in horror before he leapt off the branch as his clone was swallowed whole by the enormous reptile. Orochimaru stood atop the head of the beast, his eyes filled with an insane glee. Naruto too leapt off of the branch, the genin gritting his teeth as he barely escaped the jaws of their opponent's summons.

"Amazing!" the sannin exclaimed, his eyes darting between the two boys. "Show me the extent of your abilities!" His words were swiftly followed by a lunge from his mount. Tatsuo let himself fall off his current branch, descending towards the ground at alarming speeds as he watched terrified while the large serpent darted after him. The creature broke through most of the thinner branches, slowing down only for seconds when it had to twist around the thicker limbs of the large trees.

Flipping mid-fall, Tatsuo planted his feet firmly on the surface of a large branch, using chakra to cushion his fall, before leaping off to give himself a bit more speed. Hopping from branch to branch, he made sure not to waste any time looking back, knowing quite well that Orochimaru and his pet were on his tail. For the first time since the start of the fight, the boy let a grin appear on his face. He'd just have to keep the man occupied so that he wouldn't notice what he was walking into. Well, more like slithering into, the teen mused to himself.

Landing sideways on a tree trunk, the teen sped upwards. Using chakra to speed up his movements further, the Uchiha bound up the wooden surface with little difficulty. "Almost there…" he muttered to himself reassuringly, hoping that this would work. Passing a large branch, the teen smirked when he caught a glimpse of something. Finishing a quick sequence of handseals, the genin came to a halt a little ways up the tree, before twisting around and breathing out a massive fireball towards the snake and its master. Stopping in its tracks, the immense beast twisted around to protect its summoner.

Orochimaru felt the scorching heat of the flames, as they blew past, singing his skin, if only slightly. But the man seemed undaunted for the most part. As the flames died down, Tatsuo stood panting whilst using chakra to remain stuck to the vertical surface of the tree. His expression turned grim as he gazed upon the unharmed form of Orochimaru. Well, it did look like he'd managed to damage the serpent quite a bit from the look of its scorched scales.

"Impressive, Tatsuo-kun…" Orochimaru began, with his arms crossed. A smile spread across is face as he gazed upon the exhausted form of the genin. "But you are merely a genin. You donot have the ability to fight someone of my caliber on even grounds…"

Tatsuo chuckled at the man's words, knowing just how true they were. "You're right…obviously…" he replied, taking a moment to get his breath back. He was extremely thankful to whatever deity existed that the sannin wasn't simply finishing the fight outright. "But Team 6 has ways around that little fact…"

"Is that so?" Orochimaru questioned with an amused smile on his face. Without a word, his summons moved a bit closer to the boy, prompting him to take a few steps back. "And what might that be?" the man asked, already knowing that Kasumi was hidden away to his right and Naruto to his left. He merely wanted to see what the three of them would do.

Tatsuo smirked at his opponent's question, forming his signature single-handed handseal. "See…Team 6 has a little motto we came up with a few days ago," the teen stated. "We blow shit up and ask questions later!" he roared before letting out another monstrous ball of flames. Orochimaru didn't even blink, his serpent curling around him once more. He did however raise an eyebrow as two clones of the Uchiha appeared several branches behind him, both running through several handseals. Twin gusts of wind transformed the intense flames into a raging storm of fire. The sannin could feel the heat, even as his summons protected him from nearly all of the damage.

What the man did not expect to happen, however, were the dozens of hidden explosive tags on the branches and trees around him to activate, courtesy of the Uzumaki siblings. Before he knew it, he was at the center of a titanic explosion that resounded throughout the entire forest. The fiery inferno caused by Tatsuo's techniques combined with the chain of explosions caused by Kasumi and Naruto destroyed most, if not all, of the surrounding forest. Trees crashed to the ground, ashes from the burnt leaves and wood filling the air as the wind whipped at the faces of all three genin.

Several moments passed and Tatsuo took deep breaths as he leaned against a tree trunk. He could still feel the slight burns from the results of their assault. A part of him wondered if they'd managed to defeat one of the legendary Sannin. But a larger part of him urged him to find the rest of his team and run while they still had the chance. The boy was sweating a large amount, having fought this long under the intense killing intent of Orochimaru. There were more than a few times during the fight that he'd felt like freezing up, but he'd pushed on knowing that hesitation would only mean trouble. Having experienced a similar effect during his the fight with Zabuza and training sessions with their sensei had helped immensely aswell.

Slowly pushing himself off the tree, he took a few steps and looked around to try and find his team. "I used up a lot of chakra there…" he muttered to himself, his eyes no longer the red of the sharingan. "I need to find those two fast."

"That was quite sneaky…" he heard from behind him, his eyes widening in horror when the words reached his ears. Twisting around to face the speaker, he found a kunai buried deep in his shoulder. Tatsuo let out a pained scream as he stumbled backwards, blood dripping down the weapon he'd been stabbed with. His breathing was quick and erratic, his eyes wide as he stared fearfully at the unharmed form of Orochimaru. The only indication of him being affected by their trap were the slight burns on his skin, although those too were minor. "You've performed marvelously so far, Tatsuo-kun." The man's words were anything but reassuring.

Taking a few shaky steps backward, Tatsuo heard a hiss right behind him. He barely had time to register the sound before he felt fangs sink deep into the skin right between his neck and right shoulder. The genin let out a pained grunt, his hand swiftly gripping onto the snake that had managed to crawl up his body without him noticing. With a tightening of his grip, he felt the creature go limp in his hand. Tossing the reptile aside, he looked ahead to see Orochimaru grinning at him.

That was when he felt it. Dizziness washed over him, the world around him suddenly spinning and the noises he heard becoming distorted. He blinked several times, shaking his head to try and get rid of the effects of whatever poison the snakebite had injected him with. "How entertaining…" Orochimaru mused out loud, slowly walking over to the hallucinating boy. "You were so focused on me that you didn't notice my little pet creeping up on you."

Standing infront of the intoxicated teen, the sannin chuckled as he gazed upon the tipsy ninja. Tatsuo, looked up at the man before attempting to back up, only to stumble and fall onto the branch. He couldn't move properly with his world spinning and his sense of balance thrown off to such a degree. He looked on helplessly as his enemy's neck began to stretch, elongating as his head closed in on where he'd been bitten. It seemed like he wouldn't be getting out of this one alive.

Just as Orochimaru had been a few inches away from his prize, he heard something. A loud battle cry that caused his eyes to dart off to the side. And in that instant, he felt the skin on his face burn. A fist covered in a shroud of red chakra smashed into his cheek, sending the sannin flying off of the branch and into another. Tatsuo looked up at his savior, his black eyes meeting worried red slitted ones. A distorted voice reached his ears, the teen having to focus hard to make out what it was saying. "Tatsuo, are you alright?"

His world still spinning, the Uchiha gave his teammate a weak nod. The girl let out a relieved sigh, the red aura of chakra around her becoming slightly lighter. That colour darkened immediately as her ears twitched. Ducking under a large serpent that was aimed at her, the girl pulled her clawed hand back. In an instant, the snake was severed into two, both halves falling down to the forest floor. Jerking her head towards the source of the attack, the girl noticed a dozen more of the reptiles rocketing towards her. Gritting her teeth in anger, she crossed her arms infront of her before letting out an beastly roar. Swinging her arms, she sent a gust of wind towards the oncoming creatures, sending them flying in various directions.

Distracted by the snakes, however, she didn't notice the appearance of their opponent next to her in time. " **Five Pronged S-** " Orochimaru began, only to have his words cut off as Naruto smashed a kick into the side of his face. Flipping sideways to land on a different branch, the sannin looked up to see the two Uzumaki siblings standing side by side, defending their fallen teammate. The man smirked in excitement, before running through a few handseals. " **Summoning Jutsu!** " he exclaimed, biting the thumb of his right hand to let blood drip down his hand. Slamming the bloody palm down onto the branch he was on, spider-web like seals spread out across the wooden surface.

A large cloud of smoke erupted from the seal, obscuring the man for but a moment before he emerged once more. Rushing towards the group of genin on a massive snake, the sannin smiled gleefully upon finding such thrilling entertainment after his bout with Team 7.

"Kasumi!" Naruto exclaimed, earning a nod from his sister. The two genin prepared themselves for the attack, while Tatsuo backed up slightly so that he wouldn't get in their way. The boy attempted to stand up, only for his world to spin once more. He grit his teeth in anger, hating how he was so useless at this point. His head jerked up when he heard Kasumi grunt loudly, a loud thud following her grunt. His eyes widened upon seeing the girl holding off the enormous snake with only brute strength, the malevolent aura around her flaring wildly.

At that moment, Naruto leapt up to attack Orochimaru. The teen's slitted eyes glared daggers at the pale man. Landing on the scaly body of the man's summons, the boy formed a single handseal. Orochimaru's smile widened upon seeing several clones pop into existence around the boy. The first clone rushed towards the man, attempting to rip him to shreds with its clawed hands. The man backed out of the copy's reach before closing in on it in an instant and smashing his fist into the blonde's gut.

Dispersing the first clone, the man bent back slightly to avoid a clawed hand that passed an inch away from his throat. Sidestepping the clone that leapt over his initial attacker to dodge a dropkick, Orochimaru chuckled. In an instant, the two clones were dispersed. The other clones didn't have any time to react before the man was upon them. The first clone met its end upon receiving an elbow to the face. The second and third found themselves being run through by the sannin's hands, the man rushing past a pair to while smashing his palms into their faces.

The real Naruto's eyes widened as all of his clones were dispersed in the span of a few seconds. He brought his arms up just in time to block a hard kick that flung him backwards off of the snake. Backflipping in the air and landing on the branch, he looked up to see Kasumi hop back as the jaws of the great snake she'd stopped opened wide. Much to their surprise, a single kunai stabbed into the inside of the creature's maw. A single blade with an active exploding tag attached to it.

Leaping off of the branch just in time, they looked over to see Tatsuo in the air next to them. The black-haired boy gave them a weak smile as the head of the snake behind them exploded in a shower of blood, bone and skin. Landing on another branch, Tatsuo fell to his knees. His world was still spinning, even if the effects of the poison had lessened to a great degree. His teammates were about to help him when Orochimaru landed on the branch across from them.

Naruto grit his teeth, despair gripping his heart. He didn't know what to do at this point. Their opponent was just too strong. He felt a chill run down his spine, a chuckle ringing through his head. A moment later and he found himself in a familiar sewer, infront of a familiar cage. A pair of enormous glowing red eyes gazed at him from beyond the bars of the colossal cage. " **Looks like you're in quite a bind, eh?** " a voice rumbled through the otherwise silent chamber. " **Would you like some help?** "

"What do you want, Fox?!" Naruto yelled loudly, his head darting around the room in worry. "I don't have any time to waste right now!"

" **Silence!** " the voice roared, as the monstrous creature that was the Kyubi emerged from the depths of its prison. " **You don't need to worry about your pathetic friends, barely any time passes by while you're in here.** " The beasts words calmed his container a bit, allowing the creature to continue. " **I believe your sister is currently in the process of using my chakra.** " His words prompted Naruto to narrow his eyes.

"I told you I'm not doing it, you damn Furball!" the genin yelled at his tenant. "Let me out of here already!"

" **How annoying...** " the fox mumbled, before glaring at the blonde. " **I won't harm the girl. I'll only be borrowing a little of what's rightfully mine. You can cut me off whenever you see fit...although I'd rather you didn't.** " The beast chuckled after having said this, earning a glare from his jailer.

Allowing himself a few seconds to calm down and think about it, Naruto looked up at the Fox inquisitively. "Alright...what do you want?" He received loud laughter in reply.

Kasumi looked over to her brother, the red cloak of chakra bubbling around her. "What?" she questioned, upon registering what her sibling had muttered to her. Seeing him nod, she shrugged before holding her fist out to him. Orochimaru too raised a curious eyebrow at the girl's actions. The boy had just muttered something to his red-haired sister and then the girl had held her hand out. A second later and the blonde bumped fists with Kasumi, their hands touching. To the surprise and shock of the snake sannin, the malevolent cloak of the Ninetails chakra began to crawl up the blonde's arm, slowly enveloping him aswell. "Huh?" Kasumi let out, confused at what was happening. She felt a bit of the overflowing strength she'd been feeling slowly seep out of her, only to be replaced as her brother pulled his hand back. Her eyes widened as she noticed Naruto covered in the same red cloak as her, a predatory smile present upon his features.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, his expression once more serious as he glared at the pale-skinned sannin. "Let's do this, Kasumi!" The red-haired genin nodded at her brother's words before she too turned her attention back to their opponent. A few seconds passed in silence, before both the Uzumaki children hunched over, their fangs barred and their clawed hands pulled back. And then, they rocketed towards their enemy with unbelievable speed. Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise as the two genin seemingly appeared infront of him. He disappeared in a burst of speed, barely managing to avoid the clawed hands of his attackers. Naruto and Kasumi landed on the branch, their heightened senses warning them of the incoming attack. Leaping off to either side, they dodged the stream of flames that set the branch ablaze. Landing on different branches, they took no time in darting towards the golden-eyed missing ninja once again.

Orochimaru dodged to the side as Naruto sent a chakra covered punch his way, the attack splintering a part of the trunk it hit instead. Before the man could counterattack, however, he was forced to jump over the twin strikes from Kasumi. Landing behind the Uzumaki siblings, he flashed through a series of handseals, a brutal gust of wind smashing into the two genin as a result. Seeing them collide against the wooden trunk of the tree, the sannin tensed his hands, a small purple flame lighting up on each of his fingers and thumbs. He vanished in an instant, appearing before the two stunned containers with his hands pulled back. " **Five Pron-** " he was cut off once more, as a lightening covered hand rammed through his chest from behind. However, the sannin simply collapsed into a muddy mess instead.

Naruto and Kasumi looked up to see Tatsuo, with his hand still crackling with lightening. The boy seemed exhausted, both physically and mentally. As the electricity around his hand faded, the teen collapsed onto his knees once more. His teammates rushed over to him, their expressions concerned. Kneeling next to the black-haired youth, they noticed him breathing heavily, his face covered in sweat. It was at this moment that Orochimaru landed on their branch, unfazed by any of their attacks thus far. The three genin looked over at him, their expressions full of hate and fear. It seemed like nothing they'd done had affected the missing ninja at all.

The man gave a bemused chuckle before gazing at the three genin with satisfaction. "My how talented you three are…" he muttered, pushing a stray strand of hair back in place behind his ear. His golden-eyes scanned over the three shinobi individually. "To think that you survived this long. Alas I-" the sannin suddenly froze, before letting out a disappointed sigh. "Hm, it seems you three are quite lucky. I'll have to leave for now, but I'm sure we'll meet again." Offering the confused team of shinobi a nonchalant wave, he sunk into the branch he'd been standing on, seemingly melting into the solid surface.

The man's abrupt departure left Team 6 worried but relieved. They weren't dumb however and so made sure not to let their guard down. A minute passed before they realized that Tatsuo was still bleeding out, the sannin's kunai still lodged in his shoulder. "Tatsuo! You idiot!" Naruto yelled at the boy, causing him to flinch at the blonde's loud voice. "What are you doing?! Pull that thing out already!" The blonde chose to ignore the chuckle that resounded in his head at that moment, deciding that Tatsuo's current condition required his attention more than the dumb fox in his belly.

"Calm down…" the black-haired teen mumbled. "In case you hadn't noticed, we were kind of in danger. I didn't have the time to pull it out and risk taking any longer in helping you two..." His words were followed by a wince as he felt the knife shift in his shoulder, almost causing him to cry out in pain. "If I remove it now, it'll only speed up the bleeding. And I'd rather not be out in the open when I patch this up…"

"But you're probably in a lot of pain!" Kasumi exclaimed worried, the red aura from before having dissipated from around her and her brother now that the team was out of danger. "Why would you want to wait?" Her words rang true, Tatsuo gritting his teeth as he felt the constant pain from his wound.

Shaking his head in frustration, Tatsuo slowly got back to his feet. "Fine…" he stated, taking a shaky step forward to help him keep his balance. "I'll pull it out but then we're going to find someplace safe before I patch this up…I'll keep pressure on it until then." Earning a nod from his teammates, the Uchiha took a deep breath before gripping the weapon in his shoulder. His teammates saw the boy wince upon doing so, obviously because of the pain it caused him. "This is going to hurt real badly…damn…" And with those words, he made sure to pull it out in one clean motion, taking care not to end up injuring himself any further. Anyone who would have been in the surrounding area would have heard a loud scream echo throughout the silence of the forest.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. Like I said before, Team 6 is nowhere near all-powerful. This chapter should prove that. They may be better than your average group of genin and maybe even at Chunin level. But the only reason they managed to survive in their previous encounters was due to the negligence of their enemies. They are still fifteen afterall and so most enemies will underestimate them, even if only a little. Plus, they don't always overpower their opponents. They try and use trickery and proper strategies. So it isn't like they can beat anyone they encounter. In this battle, they were simply outclassed. Which was a given since their enemy was one of the Sannin.  
**

 **So, that's the end of that chapter. Stay tuned for the next one though. What will be the fate of Team 6? What does the Chunin Exam have in store for our heroes? Who will be there next opponents? Will Orochimaru ever be able to perform his Five Pronged Sealing Technique? Find out next time on another episode of-**

 **Naruto: Get on with it already!**

 **Ah, alright...sure. Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter? All criticism is more than welcome. Hopefully I didn't miss anything here. And if i did, please do let me know...I'll correct any mistakes as soon as I can. Now that that's done, I guess I'll end this little note. As always, thanks again for reading my story and have a wonderful day. Happy Holidays!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Surprise...I'm back!**

 **Get it...it's a League of Legends reference...for Jax. Okay, I'll stop now. Heya guys! What's up? I'm back with another chapter for this story. Sorry for not updating in like...a month I think. I had a lot of stuff going on and a lot of projects and tests. Plus, I was suffering from writer's block. Really sorry about the gap. Believe it or not, I know how annoying it is to wait for someone to update a fanfic you like or might want to read. And I apologize once again for the late update.**

 **That being said, I have a bit more bad news. Because of my current schedule, I won't be able to get too much time to write. Due to that, my updates are going to be really inconsistent. I'll try and update once after every two weeks. But I'm not making any promises. I know you guys might be annoyed or angry because of this. Heck, so am I. But I consider this a hobby. And life just takes a bit more priority for me right now.**

 **Anyways, I've been babbling for too long already. Sorry for keeping ya'll waiting. This chapter isn't my best. And it lacks any real awesomeness. Except a small glimpse into Naruto's trip with Jiraiya. That should be interesting. Anyways, let's do this!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto, okay guys! For all of you who love hearing me suffer at these disclaimers. I still don't own Naruto...**

* * *

Chapter 14

Hiruzen sighed as he stared down at Tatsuo's sleeping form. The boy was getting some well-needed rest. After Team 6's encounter with his former student, they'd spent the rest of the day hidden away in the forest. During that time, Tatsuo had patched himself up the best he could with his teammates' assistance. The boy had then passed out, most probably due to exhaustion, with a minor fever, a side-effect of the poison which had been injected into his system. During that time, Naruto and Kasumi had taken turns watching over the unconscious boy, carefully keeping a lookout for any enemy ninja.

According to Naruto, the young Uchiha had been mumbling in a frightened manner throughout his time being unconscious. Hiruzen expected it to be caused by one of the teen's nightmares. He had used, as brought to his attention by the teen's teammates, the **Speeding Arrow** technique. That was what the elderly Kage assumed was the cause of the raven-haired teen's troubled dreams. Once he'd awoken the next day, he'd insisted on getting to the tower. It had caused a bit of an argument between him and the Uzumaki siblings, the two of them worried about the boy's health. They'd eventually relented and moved for the center of the forest, arriving at the tower a few hours later.

Figuring out the little test at the end hadn't been too difficult for the team. It had taken them around five minutes to realize that they were required to open the scrolls, now that they had reached their destination. Upon doing so, they were greeted to billowing smoke which resulted in them flinging the parchments of paper away. A small explosion of the obscuring white fog later and the three had been greeted by their academy teacher, Iruka.

Once he'd gotten word about the incident though, he'd rushed over as soon as he could. It didn't help that Sasuke had been marked by the treacherous Snake Sanin with one of his infamous Cursed Seals. The man let out a sigh. Simply thinking about it gave him a headache. Looking over to his right, he motioned for the eagle-masked ANBU next to him to speak. "He's doing much better now, Hokage-sama…" the ninja stated as he stood at attention whilst facing his leader. "I purged the last bit of poison from his system and healed most of the harsher wounds, as per your request. I've left the minor injuries untouched however so that he isn't given any unfair advantage in the next part of the exam."

Nodding to the medic-nin, the Hokage slowly walked out after taking one last look at the sleeping boy. He frowned as he opened the door, wondering what his former student was planning. He'd have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. "How is he, Old man?" Naruto asked when he saw the Hokage exit their room. He'd been worried about his friend ever since the teen had lost consciousness in the forest.

"He's doing quite well at the moment," Hiruzen replied, smiling at the blonde genin and his sister. "He should be fine by tomorrow." The man noticed the two genin sigh in relief upon hearing his words. "If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to. I hope you three do well in the next part aswell…I'd suggest getting some rest."

Nodding at their leader, the two genin said their goodbyes before watching the elderly village leader walk away. "What an exam, huh?" Naruto questioned, only to receive no reply. Turning around, he noticed his sister walking into their room. Following the girl, he came to a halt beside her as the two looked down at the peaceful visage of their teammate. A moment of silence passed between the two before Naruto let out a chuckle, earning a raised eyebrow from his red-haired sibling. "You know, he's probably enjoying all the sleep…" His words took a second to register in the girl's head before she giggled. It didn't help that her brother was probably right too.

"Well then…" Kasumi stated, moving back towards the door. "If that's the case then we better get out of his hair." Her words prompted the blonde genin to follow after her, slowly closing the door to their room once they were out. "How about something to eat?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Naruto replied, pumping his fist into the air enthusiastically. "I'm starved!" And with that, the two began their quest to reach the large cafeteria provided for the participants. It was dusk outside, the two genin having been too worried about their friend to eat anything before they'd gotten any news about him.

Several minutes later and the Uzumaki siblings were seated on one of the many benches in the common room with their trays of food infront of them. Naruto didn't take any time to start munching on his lunch, whilst his sister stared at him before rolling her eyes at his behavior. Looking down at her food she was about to dig in herself when a thought occurred to her. Moving her gaze back up to her hyperactive brother, she asked him something that had been on her mind since they'd faced off against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death.

"Hey, Big Brother…" she called, gaining his attention. "What happened back in the forest? What did you do to use the Kyubi's power?" Her words caused her brother to tilt his head slightly whilst squinting his eyes before they widened in realization. Leaning back slightly he smiled at the red-haired kunoichi before explaining.

"Oh yeah!" the blonde exclaimed, folding his arms behind his head as he retold what had transpired. "Basically, the dumb fox decided to help us out." Kasumi's eyes widened upon hearing her elder brother's words, the girl leaning in to pay attention. "He pulled me into the seal and told me he had a plan."

"What was it?" Kasumi asked, curiosity clear in her voice. Naruto chuckled before looking up at the high ceiling of the cafeteria.

"Well…" he began, placing his arms on the table for support. "He more or less reminded me of something from my trip with the Pervy-Sage. It was when we were visiting The Village Hidden in the Clouds."

… _ **Flashback…**_

 _A younger Naruto sat cross-legged with his arms crossed over his chest. The small blonde glared with narrowed eyes at the man infront of him. The man was dark-skinned with a muscular build. His hair was a very light blonde and he had a goatee. A tattoo of a bull's horn was present on his left cheek and the kanji for 'Iron' on his right shoulder. The man wore a white flak jacket, with one strap passing over his left shoulder. He also wore dark grey trousers with standard Kumo shin and hand guards. A white scarf lay wrapped around his neck, a pair of oval-shaped sunglasses covering his eyes and a white Kumo headband tied around his forehead._

 _The older man too sat there with his legs and arms crossed as he stared at his charge. Not a word was spoken between the two for several minutes, Naruto choosing to glare at the man and said man merely too bored to do anything. However, it wasn't long before the blonde Uzumaki's patience grew too thin. "Cmon!" the young boy exclaimed as he swung his arms into the air. "Atleast say something! I'm sorry I called your dumb raps dumb, okay?"_

 _The elder man's eyebrow twitched at the child's words for a second before he schooled his expression once more and returned to ignoring the boy. This action resulted in the hyperactive blonde grinding his teeth in annoyance. "What more do you want from me?!" the boy shouted, spreading his arms out in a questioning manner. He earned no reaction from his caretaker._

" _What's the matter?" spoke a feminine voice from behind him, prompting the boy to jerk his head around in shock and surprise. His eyes came to rest on a woman with long blonde hair that was tied with bandages. She had dark brown eyes that gazed at him curiously as she approached the two of them. Her attire consisted of a short-sleeved black and purple blouse and black pants, both of which had a cloud-like design on them aswell as purple fingerless gloves and a chain of blue beads wound around her left hand. A standard Kumogakure forehead protector was wrapped around her forehead with a kunai pouch on her thigh. She also wore bandages around her arms and legs as well as a red belt around her waist._

" _Who the heck are you?!" Naruto questioned rather loudly, earning him an amused chuckle from the woman. Walking over to the seated pair, she placed a hand on her hip and stared down at them with raised eyebrows._

" _Well, you're rowdy aren't you?" she stated more than asked. "The name's Yugito Nii, kid." Looking over to the silent Kumo shinobi sitting infront of the blonde child, she tilted her head in a confused manner. "What's gotten into you, B?"_

" _He's mad because I called his raps dumb!" Naruto exclaimed, crossing his arms and letting out an annoyed 'humph' as he twisted his head to the side._

 _Yugito let out a loud laugh before looking down at her comrade. "Is that what's got you all riled up, Mr. Guardian?" Getting no verbal response from the obviously still annoyed man, she laughed once more before giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "This isn't the first time you've had your raps called bad, B. Just wow him like you did that team of genin a while back."_

 _That got a reaction from the man, his lips morphing into a predatory smirk. "Now that's what I'm talkin about!" B roared as he leapt to his feet. "This'll be sure to make the little brat shout." Spinning around so that his back was facing Naruto, the man held his left hand out._

" _You might want to take a step or two back…" Yugito stated to Naruto, crossing her arms over her ample chest. Taking a few seconds to react to her words, the young Uzumaki was only able to get to his feet before B put his plan into action._

" _I fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee!" the man began as his extended arm suddenly lit up with lightening. "Feel the wrath of the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki, Killer B!" His words were followed up with a swing of his electrified arm, sending a an arcing mess of lightening flying towards one of the thick training logs present in the center of the large field. Upon impact, the technique exploded in a shower of sparks that sent the once solid wooden post flying everywhere in splinters. Naruto's eyes were wide, his mouth agape at the display of sheer power by the man._

" _If you need to get some respect, explosions are the way to go…" Yugito stated out loud to no one in particular. She wasn't sure if the golden-haired boy had heard her with how astounded he seemed but she didn't hold it against him. B's power was awe-inspiring._

" _That was awesome!" Naruto roared as he rushed over to the white-wearing shinobi. "Could you teach me how to do that?!" the boy exclaimed as he bounced excitedly on his feet._

 _B smirked as he crossed his arms, gazing condescendingly down at the young Uzumaki. "You can't be taught how to be awesome, Fool ya Fool," he announced, prompting the boy to fall on his face in surprise._

" _What?!" he shouted, leaping back up once more. "Why?!"_

" _It's pretty simple…" B began, preparing to start rapping before he was smacked upside the head by Yugito._

" _Spare us your raps, B…" she stated, sighing at how idiotic the man could act sometimes. "You've just got the kid's respect. Don't throw it away by rapping again…" The woman let out a 'huh' as her fellow Kumo shinobi suddenly disappeared. Turning her head, she found him crouched a little distance away whilst muttering incoherently as a metaphorical cloud of despair floated over his head. "…Right."_

 _Turning to face the confused Naruto, she sighed before smiling at the boy. "Sorry kid, we're not allowed to teach you anything." Her words ended up making the boy frown as he looked at the ground with sad eyes. Yugito had to resist the urge to simply scoop the boy up and take him home where she could simply cuddle him to death. Instead, she took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking once again. "But…I guess there is one thing we could teach you…"_

 _Naruto's mood did a complete turnaround, the young child smiling excitedly up at the blonde woman. "Really?" he asked, earning a nod from the kunoichi that had him bouncing with happiness once more. "What is it?"_

 _Holding her fist out to the blonde child, Yugito grinned at his surprised face. "It's a little trick that some of us ninja use," the woman explained. "True ninja are said to be able to read eachother's hearts through a single strike. Following that principle, the same people can also read eachother's hearts by bumping fists." Seeing the doubt in the boy's eyes, Yugito smiled whilst pointing to B with her other hand. "I'm serious. B over there is super good at it too."_

 _Staring at the woman's outstretched fist for a few more seconds, Naruto finally met her hand with his. A feeling of warmth spread through his body for an instant before it was gone. "Feel anything?" Yugito asked, seeing the telltale look on the young child's face._

" _Yeah…I think…" Naruto replied, pulling his hand back and looking at it curiously. "I don't know what it was though…"_

" _That's alright," the kunoichi stated as she casually waved her hand. "You're still pretty young. Give it some time." Seeing the boy happily nod at her words, she gave him a smile before stretching her arms above her. She looked down at B's charge once more, only to find his eyes glued onto her impressive bust. Her eye twitched, before she brought her arms down and cracked her knuckles. "I see that perverted sannin hasn't failed in passing on his teachings to you…" she stated, a devious smirk on her face and an insane glint in her eyes._

 _Naruto's eyes darted up to her face to see her glaring at him. He began to sweat upon realizing that he'd made a horrible mistake. Just as the woman infront of him took a step towards him, he found himself frisked off of his feet as B dashed out of the field with the young blonde tucked under his arm. "Mr. Nine, you've got tougher guts than mine!" he stated as Naruto gazed horrified at the enraged Yugito chasing after them. "But you just screwed up big time!"_

… _ **Flashback End…**_

Kasumi stared blankly at her brother as he gave her a sheepish smile upon finishing his tale. "Big Brother…" the redhead began. "Why are you such a pervert?"

Rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment, Naruto gave a small chuckle at his sister's words. "Blame the Pervy-Sage…" he stated as his mind wandered back to the years he'd spent with his Godfather. "He's the one who raised me this way."

Sighing in resignation, Kasumi proceeded to ask her brother something else. "So what you did back in the forest was read my heart?"

"Sort of…" the orange-clad teen responded. "The Furball basically told me to form a physical connection with you so that he could regulate some of his chakra into me." Scratching his head to make sense of it all, the boy came up with a simple conclusion. "So I basically took a small portion of the chakra sealed into you and used that."

"Huh…" the red-haired member of Team 6 stated. "Well…that's kind of weird. But okay…" After that, the two returned to their trays. A few minutes passed before their attention was caught by the entrance of another team into the cafeteria.

"Hey!" Naruto called, waving to the three genin who had just entered. "Hinata-chan! Over here!"

"Geez…you don't have to yell, you know…" Kiba stated as he approached the two members of Team 6 with his own team. "You're the only two in here anyways. Really not that hard to notice." Chuckling at his former classmate's words, Naruto scooted over so that Team 8 could sit with them at their table. "Where's that lazy idiot, Tatsuo?"

"Tatsuo got hurt during the last exam," stated Naruto as he finished up the last of his meal. "He's resting right now back in our room."

"I hope he wasn't injured too harshly…" Hinata stated with concern evident in her voice. She let out an 'eep' as she found herself in a one-armed hug, courtesy of Naruto.

"Nope! He'll be fine after some rest…" the blonde stated as he laughed, thinking about their Uchiha teammate's situation. "He's probably loving the extra sleep he's getting because of it!" Feeling the girl beside him suddenly go slack, Naruto looked over to his left to find Hinata unconscious with her head hanging low. "Hinata-chan!"

The other three genin present couldn't help but sweatdrop as they felt a sense of déjà vu. "What about you all?" Kasumi questioned, looking over at Kiba and Shino while her brother worried over the Hyuga heiress. "Have any trouble in the second Exam?"

"Not really," Kiba replied as he scratched the drowsy Akamaru atop his head. "But we almost ran into those guys from the Sand. I'm glad we didn't end up fighting them, otherwise we might not even be here."

"Sand?" questioned Naruto, as he positioned Hinata comfortably with her head lying on his shoulder. "You mean the team with that redhead?" Seeing the nod from Shino, Naruto frowned. "Yeah. I had a run-in with those guys before the exam. They're trouble…"

"You got that right…" Kiba replied as he waved his hand around in a lazy circle. "Honestly, if I end up having to fight him…I'm just going to forfeit…" The boy gave an involuntary shudder as he thought about the red-haired boy. "He practically reeks of blood and death…"

"I agree with Kiba," Shino stated, his voice as stoic and calm as ever. "He is someone to be weary of." Looking over at the unconscious kunoichi sitting next to Naruto, the teen sighed. "Whatever the case…I believe we should all get some rest. There are only three days left for the second exam."

"Yeah…" Naruto replied, looking over to his left. "I'll help carry Hinata-chan back to your room!" Kasumi giggled while Kiba rolled his eyes. It was obvious to pretty much anyone that the two genin liked eachother. But one was too shy and the other was far too dense. Sighing at their personalities, Shino nodded to the golden-haired boy and rose to his feet. Kiba chuckled at his former classmate as the boy struggled to pick up the Hyuga heiress. Kasumi too giggled at her brother, hoping that he'd realize one of these days that Hinata liked him.

Around half an hour later, Kasumi sat on her bed and stretched her arms up above her head. "Well…I'm exhausted!" the girl announced, gazing over at her brother. The blonde teen was lying on the sofa that was pushed up against the far wall of the room.

Chuckling at his sister's words, Naruto looked over to her with a smirk. "You're telling me…" Arching his back and hearing a few satisfying snaps, the Uzumaki child looked over to his black-haired teammate. "Tatsuo's probably in heaven right now with all the sleep he's been getting!" With that said, he positioned himself comfortably on the couch with his arms crossed behind his head on the pillow he'd borrowed from his sister.

Looking over to her resting friend, Kasumi took a few seconds to simply stare at the unmoving boy. Silence reigned through the room as Naruto shifted in his spot. "You're awake aren't you?" Kasumi asked out loud, a small grin on her face as she stared at Tatsuo's still form.

"Sure am…" were the only words the boy responded with, choosing to keep his eyes closed. A smile spread on his face as he heard Naruto let out a yelp of surprise and tumble off of the sofa, his head banging against the floor. A pained cry escaped the blonde's lips before he jumped to his feet whilst holding his skull. A loud 'You're awake!' echoed through the otherwise silent halls of the tower.

The next few days went by extremely fast for the trio of genin. Not many teams made it past the second exam, it seemed. There were a total of nine teams that made it through the Forest of Death with both Heaven and Earth scrolls. One of which had two members who were extremely injured. The rest had either failed or perished. It was quite a depressing fact really. And before they knew it, Team 6 found themselves standing behind the railing of the spectators section of a large room, high above the arena in the middle of the room. The chamber was a large open area with a single large statue standing against one of the far walls. The stone statue depicted an unknown shinobi, with his hands up in a tiger seal.

Above the monument was a small spectator's booth where the Hokage sat, flanked by a pair of jounin. The old leader wore the official Kage robes, his eyes gazing over the genin who'd managed to make it past the treacherous second exam. His eyes lingered on Team 7, particularly on the tired looking Uchiha. The boy's team had gotten to the tower on the last day, thus giving them very little time to rest. Their encounter with Orochimaru had left them exhausted and injured. This had led to them having a harder time procuring both the scrolls.

His attention was soon caught by Naruto as the boy pumped his fist into the air and proclaimed his excitement rather loudly. "Alright!" the blonde genin shouted out loud, eyeing the other genin present. "This is going to be a blast!"

"Is it just me…?" Tatsuo questioned out loud. "Or does it feel like we just skipped past a few days' worth of rest…" His words earned him a raised eyebrow from his redheaded sensei and a tilted head from Naruto.

"What're you talking about?" Kasumi asked him, wondering what the lazy teen was going on about. "We've been resting for the past three days now. You can't still be tired…" Placing her hands on her hips, she gave him a confused look.

Eye twitching slightly, the Uchiha forced a smile onto his face as he simply gazed up at the ceiling. "Nevermind…" his reply did little to get rid of his team's confusion but they accepted it nonetheless. Even though he knew that they'd spent the three days after reaching the tower in recovering, a feeling in the back of his head told him that something was off. Almost as if some kind of deity was playing a cosmic joke on them all. Shaking his head to get rid of the annoying thoughts that plagued his mind, he spoke up once more. "Probably just me being lazy…as usual…"

It was at this point that he realized he'd missed most of the explanation regarding the third part of the exam. Looking down into the arena, he noticed a sickly jounin standing there. The man had short brown hair, dark-coloured eyes and dark markings under his eyes. He wore the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with a forehead protector that he wore as a bandanna and a flak jacket. Hayate Gekko, a jounin of Konoha who was a very skilled swordsman. Tatsuo didn't know too much about the man, but had met him more than a few times as a child. The man had been on the one and only genin team lead by his mother.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts once more, he looked down to see two people making their way into the arena. The first was Sasuke, the boy seeming far worse off than his opponent. Said opponent wore a mask around his mouth that fell down to around his neck aswell as round sunglasses that obscured his eyes. The teen also wore his Leaf headband like a bandana. His attire consisted of a short-sleeved white shirt with a sleeveless purple one over it along with purple pants with an obi tied around his waist aswell as purple fingerless gloves. A look over to the large monitor on the far wall of the chamber revealed the names of the two combatants currently in the arena. Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akadō.

"What's going on?" Tatsuo questioned, looking over to Naruto.

"Didn't you hear?" the blonde genin asked before looking back down into the arena. "Too many contestants made it to the tower so we're going to have a preliminary round. One on one fights…"

Tatsuo raised an eyebrow before looking back down to watch the battle that would ensue. It had been quite a while since he'd seen his fellow clansman fight. He wondered what tricks the boy had up his sleeve. Down in the arena, Sasuke glared at his opponent preparing himself to go on the offensive. Yoroi himself seemed rather calm about their fight, which miffed the Uchiha quite a bit.

"Alright you two…" Hayate began, taking a second to cough into his hand. "The fight goes on until one of you goes down or until I think one of you have lost." Earning nods from both the competitors, the jounin coughed into his hand once more before holding his hand up. "You two ready?" Nods again and the man swung his arm down, signaling the start of the battle. "Begin!"

Sasuke was on the offensive the instant the jounin leapt away, rushing towards his masked opponent with his sharingan active. Swinging his arm around he missed his target, only to spin into a sweeping low kick. Yoroi hopped over his opponent's attack, landing and bringing his hand up to catch another punch. "Is that the best you've got?!" he taunted the raven-haired teen. Sasuke frowned before attacking with a kunai, intending to stab his opponent. Letting go of the Leaf genin's hand, Yoroi hopped backwards to avoid the incoming blade.

Sasuke collapsed to a knee just as he was released, sweat marring his brow. "What's going on here?" the genin questioned out loud, not understanding why he suddenly felt so weak. Pushing himself up to his feet, he glared at his fellow Leaf genin. "What did you just do?"

"So you've noticed, eh?" the spectacled teen asked, crossing his arms as he looked at the tired form of his enemy. "My technique allows me to steal your chakra through physical contact. And it is extremely potent aswell." The genin chuckled to himself as he cracked his neck. "I can steal every last bit of your chakra in the span of a few minutes."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the boy's revelation, his lips curving into a frown. "Then I'll just have to beat you without getting close to you!" he exclaimed, running through a chain of handseals. A wave of pain washed over him as he felt the seal on his neck throb when he attempted to shape his chakra. " **Fire Style: Great Fireball!** " An enormous orb of flames rushed forth from the teen's mouth, hurtling towards the unmoving Yoroi.

"Try again!" the bandana-wearing teen shouted out, breezing through a few handseals before pulling down his mask. A stream of water flooded out from between his lips and crashed into the incoming sphere of flames. Steam filled the arena, obscuring everyone's vision. Sasuke breathed out a tired sigh, feeling the pain in his body subside, only to feel a hand grab onto his face through the fog. His feet were swept out from underneath him and his head was smashed into the floor. The young teen's vision swam, pain exploding in his head. Feeling his chakra being drained from his body, the genin latched onto his opponent's arm. Bringing his knee up to smash into Yoroi's torso, he pushed the genin off of him with his feet, flinging him towards the far wall.

Rolling backwards out of his reach, the boy ran through a chain of handseals. He felt the strain on his body, but pushed through nonetheless. " **Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!** " the exhausted member of Team 7 roared, ignoring the pain from his seal. Several balls of flame rocketed towards Yoroi, twisting in unpredictable patterns.

"Damn it!" the tanned genin cursed as he leapt out of the way of one of the incoming attacks before proceeding to roll out of the path of another immediately after. His eyes widened as Sasuke appeared infront of him, markings spreading across his skin. The spectacled genin felt a kick collide with his chin, sending him flying into the air. He didn't even notice when his opponent appeared behind him in a burst of speed. Empowered by the cursed seal he'd been given, the raven-haired genin began his assault on his opponent with a vicious spinning elbow strike to his back.

Yoroi let out a loud cry of pain as he felt something crack. The pain was followed by a brutal kick to his side that made his head spin. Several more vicious attacks followed that the poor teen couldn't properly understand due to the constant ocean of pain that drowned his body. The last thing he felt before he blacked out, as he descended towards the ground, was an unforgiving kick that smashed into his torso, slamming his body into the ground with unbelievable force.

"That's enough," Hayate announced, appearing next to the exhausted Sasuke and kneeling next to the unconscious Yoroi as he checked the boy's pulse. "We need medical assistance here!" Sasuke continued to sit there on the ground, his breathing labored. Kakashi appeared next to the boy, giving everyone his patented eye-smile. Looking down at his student and seeing his condition, the man frowned under his mask. Atleast the marks of the cursed seal had receded.

"We'll be leaving now…" the white-haired jounin stated as he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. And with that, the pair disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"The winner is Sasuke Uchiha!" Hayate announced, taking a moment to catch his breath after a small coughing fit. "We'll be starting up the next match in a minute."

Up in the stands, Tatsuo leaned back against the wall. "Well, that was interesting to watch…" he muttered, looking over to see Naruto smirking as he heard the proctor announce his former classmate as the winner. "You seem happy…"

"Course I am!" the hyperactive blonde announced. "This means that when I fight Sasuke, it'll be even more fun!" Looking back down into the arena as the unconscious Yoroi was carried away, Naruto sighed. "Although I wish that fight had been a bit longer. It only took around ten minutes."

"You're weird sometimes…" Tatsuo replied. Thinking over his statement, the raven-haired teen smiled sheepishly. "Actually…you're weird most of the time."

"Well…" the two teens heard from beside them. Turning to their right, they noticed Kiba leaning on the railing and looking up at the screen. "This ought to be interesting…" Following the feral boy's gaze, the two genin raised their eyes at the two names present on the large monitor on the screen.

"Sakura against Ino, eh?" Tatsuo mused out loud. "This should be entertaining alright…"

* * *

 **Okey dokey. That's over and done with. Was it okay? I'm willing to change things in it if it's too rushed or something. I just wanted to get through with this part so we can get to some of the more fun fights. Tell me what you all think okay?**

 **Oh! And one more thing. I'd like to know if you guys want to see all the fights in the preliminary round. Even the one's that'll be unchanged. Like the Sakura vs Ino one. That one's pretty boring so I wouldn't mind skipping past it. But it depends on you all. What do you guys want? Feel free to leave a review or something.**

 **As always, thanks for taking the time to read my work. A big thank you to all those who've stuck with me so far. I hope I can do you all proud! Seeya!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Welp! I'm back again! How's it going ya'll? Hopefully I haven't angered too many of you because of this update schedule. But life is rough. You just gotta deal with it I guess. Anyways, onto more important matters. I got a few reviews that I need to address. So let's go!**

 **Okay...so this is kinda what I feared. I put in OCs and focused too much on them. My bad on that. Honestly though, I'm just doing it to try and get them all involved in the story. I know this a Naruto fanfic and all but its called 'The Tale of Team 6' for a reason. Either way, I do feel like I've been giving Naruto way less time than I should have. And this next chapter probably isn't going to be too different. But that's just because this is going to be 1v1 battles and you can't really focus on too many characters in 1v1 scenes. Anyways, I'll try and focus more on Naruto aswell from now on.**

 **Next up, I see why some of you may think Naruto isn't the strong one. And that's because he isn't the strongest on his team. Atleast not in every aspect. Each member of Team 6 excels in their own areas. Tatsuo is smart. Along with that he's also skilled in taijutsu and ninjutsu, along with having the sharingan, so a bit genjutsu aswell. That makes him a jack of all trades kinda guy. But he is still a master of none. Naruto relies a lot on his clones and outlasting his opponents stamina-wise. He's not the fastest of the bunch but he's definitely stronger than Tatsuo in terms of having more chakra, physical strength and endurance. Besides that, he's also got the whole enrage-turns-him-into-a-feral-fighter thing going for him. Kasumi is sort of a wildcard. She's more of a balance between Naruto and Tatsuo. Her ninjutsu isn't the best but isn't the worst either. Her taijutsu is pretty solid too. Adding to that is her having the Kyubi's chakra which gives her a huge power spike in terms of an actual fight. And Kushina's a jounin so she's basically stronger than any of them. Once again though, she isn't at her full potential yet due to her absence from the ninja world for a while. She is getting back to peak condition though. And about the whole them having the same techniques hence not being unique...it's kinda just one jutsu. And Tatsuo can't use it to the extent that Naruto and Kasumi can. They've yet to really delve in anything that'll truly make them unique. But that'll change soon enough.  
**

 **As for the fight scenes. Here's the thing, the only opponents Team 6 has truly been up against are people stronger than them. Zabuza, Orochimaru and even Haku. All these guys are people you'd WANT to have any help you can get when fighting. I will be having them go 1v1 against opponents. But trying to make a logical reason why Naruto would willingly get into a one on one fight against someone like Orochimaru and then survive is kinda difficult dontcha think? Unless he's doing it to save his friends and family, in which case the power of plot-armor will let him do so...' _sarcasm.'_  
**

 **Finally, I got concerns on Naruto's relationship with his family. Here's the deal. Naruto already KNOWS about why Kushina left him, even though she herself isn't aware that he knows. Now Naruto hasn't completely forgiven her. He isn't some saint who just forgives and forgets. But he's been raised to be understanding, even if he's still a kid. He's trying to have a healthy relationship with his family because, in the end, the only reason Kushina left him in the first place is to protect him. And he's a kid who's craved family from when he was young. Why would he forgo the chance at having a family for something like jealousy or a meaningless grudge. Now I do plan on putting in something later on that'll create a bit of tension between him and Kushina, however I don't really see why he'd hate his sister in his current state. Jealousy would be a bit illogical because he gets why Kushina had to leave and that she wasn't ready to leave both her kids. Once again, there will be tension but later on. Just know that even though Naruto is on good terms with his family right now, things may change later on. Oh, and also...I'm pretty sure I stated WHY Kushina left Naruto...just not in the early chapters...so...yeah.**

 **Disclaimer: Getting on with it...Do I seem like I own Naruto to ya'll. If I did I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here writing fanfiction about it...**

* * *

Chapter 15

"Well…" Kasumi stated, a strained smile on her face as she watched her fellow kunoichi being carried out of the arena by the medic ninja. "That was…interesting." It was clear that the girl was at a loss for words after having watched the match between the two genin. Beside her, however, her brother was rather annoyed. And the blonde had no problem with being rather vocal about his thoughts.

"What was that?!" the teen shouted loudly as he threw his arms up into the air. "That was the dumbest fight I've ever seen!" Kushina looked down at her son with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms and frowned. "They didn't even manage to hit eachother more than a few times. And then they both passed out right after Sakura was about to give up!" Tatsuo sighed next to the blonde Uzumaki, rolling his eyes at the boy's behavior. "What happened?"

"If you didn't catch it after watching the fight," Shikamaru stated from a little distance away, gaining the attention of both Naruto and his sister. "Ino caught Sakura with her clan jutsu. Sakura managed to break out of it and the backlash knocked them both out." Having said his piece, the lazy Nara let out a tired sigh and proceeded to sit down whilst leaning against the wall.

"I still say it was a boring fight," Naruto stated, pouting as he stared down at his feet.

"You know," Kushina began, her hands clasped behind her back as she continued to look around the large chamber. "Not every fight has to be action-packed and overflowing with flashy techniques."

"I know," Naruto muttered. "But those are the best kind of fights." It wasn't until he heard the words of the proctor that he snapped his head up.

"Next match is between Kasumi Uzumaki of Konohagakure," Hayate began, taking a slow breath before finishing his sentence "And Aiko Koizumi from Kirigakure. Please make your way down to the arena."

"Good luck, Kasumi…" Tatsuo wished the girl, giving her a smile. He knew the redhead was strong enough to take care of herself. It was just a matter of believing in her. The raven-haired youth received a nod from the kunoichi in return. "Do your best out there."

"Kick some butt, sis!" Naruto proclaimed rather loudly, earning a giggle from his sibling. Looking towards her mother, the girl received a comforting smile and nod. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself before moving for the stairs. Calming her beating heart as she made her way down the steps, the girl smiled to herself. It seemed like her brother was beginning to rub off on her because she was definitely excited about the upcoming fight.

Upon entering the arena, her eyes immediately darted towards her opponent. The girl was a little taller than herself, with shoulder-length black hair tied into a high ponytail. She also wore a Kirigakure headband on her forehead. Her eyes were a dark black, a stark contrast to her fair skin. A small scar ran across her left cheek, curving towards her lips. The kunoichi's attire consisted of a short-sleeved black undershirt that hugged her body. Over that she wore a thin black vest along with baggy black trousers and shinobi sandals. The most interesting part of her state of dress, however, were the elbow length black gloves she wore under her leather armguards. They seemed to have some sort of markings stitched into the material that were hidden quite well by the armguards.

"Hi there!" Kasumi greeted her opponent, earning a stunned expression from the girl. "Let's have a fun fight, okay?" Her words seemed to surprise the black-haired kunoichi, judging by her confused expression.

"What do you mean?" the Mist ninja questioned, tilting her head curiously. Her voice was soft, her tone calm yet unsure.

Kasumi sweatdropped as she gazed at the befuddled visage of her opponent. "I meant let's give it our best."

"I…assumed that was obvious, was it not?" was the reply the Leaf genin received, her opponent seeming no less confused than before.

Kasumi's smile faltered as she dropped her head in resignation. The young redhead sighed before simply shaking her head. "Nevermind…" she stated as she took her place a few steps away from her opponent.

"I did not understand you're earlier words," the Kiri kunoichi stated as she brought her fists up infront of her, one ahead of the other as she spread her legs to give herself a more balanced stance. "But I will do everything in my power to defeat you!" Her eyes were full of determination, her expression schooled as her gaze locked onto the grinning Kasumi.

"Me too then!" Kasumi stated as she spread her feet a little farther apart, bringing her hands up in her own fighting stance. "I'm not holding anything back!"

"Well then…" Hayate began as he gazed at both the genin. "Since you both seem ready to go…begin!" Having said his part, the jounin leapt back immediately. An instant later, Kasumi formed a familiar handseal, a squad of clones popping into existence around her. Without need for any sort of order, the copies of the girl charged forward towards their enemy. Aiko didn't seem at all fazed by the increase in numbers, choosing to simply tighten her fists.

The moment the first clone reached the girl, she sprang forth and smashed her fist into the duplicate's face. The other clones barely noticed her move until the copy hit was flung back at an alarming speed. Just as the redhead popped out of existence, the raven-haired kunoichi was already descending upon the remaining clones. "What?!" Kasumi shouted in shock as her clones were annihilated in mere moments.

The girl's eyes widened when her opponent finished the last of the clones before dashing towards her. Noticing the girl closing in on her fast, the young Uzumaki grit her teeth before running through a chain of quick handseals. " **Water Style: Wild Water Wave!** " she roared before launching a torrent of water towards her approaching enemy.

Aiko saw the attack coming and halted in her tracks before leaping to the side. Having dodged the incoming stream of water she looked back towards her opponent, only to find several copies of the girl a few steps from her. She frowned before bringing her arms up. At that moment, the real Kasumi noticed the slight glow emanating from her opponent's gloves before the girl blurred into motion. A hard punch to the chest sent one of the clones barreling upwards to disperse in the air before another was sent sliding across the ground after receiving a vicious right hook to its face.

Aiko spun around and smashed her elbow into the gut of one of the Kasumi clones, before bringing her other arm up to block a spinning kick from another duplicate. Grabbing onto the clone's leg, she swung the poor replica around before smashing it hard into the ground. " **Water Style: Whiplash!** " the teen heard, snapping her head around just in time to see a tentacle of water smash into her. Skidding across the ground, she rolled back onto her feet and looked up to see several more of the watery appendages rushing towards her.

Clenching her left fist tightly, she narrowed her eyes slightly before pulling her arm back. The next instant, the glove on her left arm shone with a bright blue light before she smashed her fist into the ground. " **Earthen Shattering!** " she roared as the floor around her exploded upwards. The liquid tentacles smashed into the concrete, sending dust and water flying everywhere.

Kasumi grit her teeth as she looked upon the site of destruction she and her opponent had created. The girl was obviously more of a taijutsu user. But her speed and strength made it quite hard to keep her in one place long enough to engage her with ninjutsu. The red-haired Uzumaki hadn't even finished her trail of thought when her eyes widened as one of the lager concrete slabs suddenly rocketed towards her. Jumping aside to avoid the speeding projectile, she rolled onto her feet before looking back as the piece of stone smashed into the far wall. "This girl's strength is insane!" the leaf kunoichi mumbled out loud. Hearing steps behind her, she spun around and brought her arms up immediately, just in time to be struck by one of her opponent's deadly punches.

Pain flared through her arms as she flew back, colliding with the hard wall before falling to her knees. Her arms screamed in pain as she pushed herself to her feet. Gritting her teeth as she bore the immense pain, she looked up only to see Aiko a step away from her. " **Mountain** **Breaker!** " the Mist genin shouted as she swung her arm around. A second later and cracks spread through the wall where her fist had smashed into the concrete surface.

Kasumi heard the worried shouts of her teammates as she felt a few specks of stone bounce off of her face. Having rolled aside just in time to keep herself from becoming a smear on the wall, the girl brought her hands up to form a single handseal. A pair of clones rammed into her surprised enemy, pushing her to the ground as the real redhead ran through another series of handsigns whilst leaping into the air. Kasumi's arms lit up with pain as she finished her jutsu, but the girl didn't have any time to waste.

Aiko's expression grew fearful just as she looked up into the air. The girl's opponent puffed her chest out before launching a condensed ball of water towards her. A few of the onlookers gasped as the technique crashed into the restrained kunoichi, before dust and water obscured her from view. Landing on her feet, Kasumi leapt back several times to put some distance between her and Aiko in case the girl was still kicking.

A few seconds passed before the raven-haired genin darted out of the dust, her fist pulled back and her eyes locked onto her foe. The girl's vest and trousers were torn in several places, and a number of cuts and scratches marred her exposed skin. Yet she showed no sign of slowing down. The kunoichi was determined to win. Her team had gotten hurt to get them this far. She would rather die than let their efforts go to waste.

Kasumi growled under her breath, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She waited as her adversary rushed towards her, ducking just when the raven-haired genin reached her. Aiko's punch passed inches above Kasumi's head, the wind whipping against the redhead's face from the speed of the strike. Taking the chance to attack, Kasumi clenched her fist and swung upwards. Her punch collided against the enemy kunoichi's chin, sending her stumbling back.

Aiko, however, didn't give her opponent any time to take advantage of her initial attack. Regaining her balance in another second, the black-haired beauty sidestepped Kasumi's next strike and then proceeded to bury her fist into the girl's gut. A loud cough escaped the Uzumaki's lips as she felt her feet leave the ground. Before she could even properly register the first hit, Kasumi felt another fist collide with her jaw. A crack echoed in her ears as she flew into the wall over to her right and crashed into it with a loud thud.

Lying on the ground for a few seconds to get her bearings, Kasumi slowly lifted herself up off of the hard ground. Her body was aching and her vision was swimming. Yet she felt a burning sensation beginning to spread through her veins. She heard Aiko say something, but the thudding of her own heart in her ears blocked out the girl's words. The girl was sure her teammates were shouting at her aswell, but she couldn't bring herself to focus on what they were saying. She could feel blood dripping out of the corner of her lips, but she didn't care at this point. Something lit up inside of her at that moment. This was fun!

Aiko froze in her tracks as she felt an ominous presence begin to spread through the arena. Hayate's eyes widened before he snapped his head towards the Hokage. The old leader seemed weary of the situation in the arena but he shook his head. The pale-skinned jounin wondered if that was truly the right choice but decided to stand back and watch a bit longer. Kasumi brought her hand up to her jaw, slowly twisting it before she felt it snap back into place. Her skull burned, much like the rest of her body, but the pain was dulled by the heat that flooded her system.

"Alright Aiko…" she began, looking up at the girl. Said girl took a shocked step back upon seeing the red slitted eyes of her opponent. "You ready for round two?" Bringing her hand up and tightening her fist, Kasumi gave her adversary a vicious grin. "Let's go!" A moment later and she was dashing towards the surprised girl. Aiko didn't hesitate though. The Kiri genin pulled her own fist back as the markings on her right glove lit up once again. Both the kunoichi swung their fists, their hands colliding with unbelievable force. Wind burst forth from their connected punches, whipping around them like a whirlwind. A dull red glow began to surround the red-haired Uzumaki as her smile widened.

"What is going on?!" Tatsuo shouted in alarm as he gazed down at the fight. Honestly, it wasn't even really a fight at this point. It was more like two people beating the living daylights out of eachother. He could make out the fact that Kasumi had begun to use the Kyubi's chakra but how on earth was the other kunoichi keeping up with his teammate's strength at this point? "There's no way that Aiko girl has the physical strength to match Kasumi as she is right now!"

Kushina had been biting her lower lip up until this point, resisting the urge to have Kasumi forfeit. She knew none of her students would forgive her if she interfered with their matches unless it was absolutely necessary. Hearing Tatsuo's words she sighed before explaining. "It's her gloves…" the jounin sensei stated, gaining the attention of both her students. "They have seals stitched into them. The seals allow her to use chakra to enhance her raw strength to unimaginable levels. They must require copious amounts of chakra to maintain use of however…"

"Wow…" Naruto stated unconsciously as his grip on the railing infront of him tightened. He desperately wanted to help his sister, but he knew she could handle this. "I hope sis can do this…"

It was at that moment that Kasumi managed to nail her opponent with a brutal kick to her torso. The strike sent Aiko flying into the far wall, cracks spreading out from where her back met the wall. The black-haired girl let out a pained cry as blood escaped her lips. Falling to her knees, she began coughing. Several drops of blood splattered onto the ground infront of her. Breathing deeply whilst trying to keep the pain in her body at bay, she looked up to see Kasumi breathing tiredly. It seemed like the fight had taken quite a toll on the redhead aswell. But the Leaf genin had the upper hand now.

"I…" Aiko muttered, earning Hayate's attention. The man hoped that the girl had come to her senses and was about to forfeit. At this rate, he wasn't sure he'd be able to jump in fast enough to save either of them if they made a mistake. "I can't…" Coughs racked her body, prompting Aiko to use her arms to brace herself against the ground. "I can't give up…not after coming so…" Another bout of coughs followed, more blood splattering onto the ground.

Kasumi watched her foe rise to her feet once more, holding her side with a single hand. "I won't…" the girl muttered once more, before glaring at her adversary with determination. Her free hand lit up, the seals on her glove shining with a dull blue glow. In a final effort, the girl rushed forward. Everyone watching whilst holding their breath. Kasumi felt the burning sensation return as Aiko closed the distance between them. She felt her control over herself slip slightly, just as the kunoichi swung her fist. The audience's eyes widened as the redhead swatted her foe's punch aside with ease, bringing her other hand around to finish the girl. Hayate realized his mistake a second too late, whilst he was a few steps away from the two fighters.

"Kasumi!" Naruto shouted, leaping over the railing to try and stop his sister from doing something she'd regret. But even he knew he wouldn't make it in time. Kushina had already catapulted herself over the railing when it happened. A loud boom of sound rang aloud as wind whirled around the combatants.

The dust settled slowly, revealing three figures in the center of the arena. Aiko lay stunned on the ground yet there was nothing to indicate that she'd been struck. Kasumi's eyes were wide as she stared at the motionless girl. Her gaze moved over to her hand, before landing on the gloved hand that held onto her wrist. Letting her eyes move up the limb, she gazed upon the relieved face of a teenage boy. He had dull brown hair, with odd yellow eyes. His attire consisted of a simple black long-sleeved shirt and baggy trousers. The sleeve around his right arm, aswell as his glove, was shredded completely and several cuts were scattered across his skin. His left arm was in a cast, indicating that he was already injured.

"I'm glad I made it in time…" he stated, letting out a sigh. Letting go of Kasumi's wrist, he stared at his own hand. His palm was burned, which confused him. The boy was obviously in immense pain, but seemed to be coping with it rather well.

"H-Hiroshi…" Aiko began, only to start coughing. Her words seemed to snap the boy out of his trance, as he kneeled down next to her. "W-wh-"

"Hush," the teen replied as he looked over the black-haired girl. "You need to rest now. You did you're best and no one can ask you for anything else." Aiko attempted to say something else, but it looked like the pain finally became too much for her. The girl slowly closed her eyes as her breathing grew steadier. Medic ninja rushed in, working to stabilize the girl for a few moments before preparing to rush her over to one of the medical rooms. One of them rushed over to the brown-haired boy aswell, looking over his wounded arm.

"Who…" Kasumi began, not being able to finish her sentence. The shock of having almost killed her opponent too much for her.

"Oh…" the boy spoke surprised, turning his head to face the redhead. "I'm Hiroshi Tsukino. Aiko's teammate." Narrowing his eyes at Kasumi, the boy sighed before walking off. "Be careful next time. Try not to lose control like that. Otherwise, you might end up regretting it later." As the teen walked away, he sent a glare up to the stands. His eyes narrowing as he glared daggers at the red-haired teen from Sunagakure.

Kasumi watched the boy leave as he accompanied his teammate out of the arena. She kept on gazing at the exit even after they were gone. It wasn't until she felt someone shaking her that she snapped out of her reverie. Looking infront of her, she gazed upon the worried face of her mother. "Kasumi-chan, are you alright?" she asked, her voice filled with worry. Kasumi, didn't respond for a few moments. The girl let the burning in her body slowly dull down and subside before suddenly collapsing into her mother's arms. "Kasumi-chan!" Kushina shouted in alarm, before checking over the girl.

"What's wrong with her?" Naruto questioned from beside the two, earning a relieved look from his sensei.

"She lost consciousness due to exhaustion…" Kushina stated as she gazed at the serene face of her daughter. "I'll…take her to the medical wing. I'll be back as soo-"

"No…" Naruto stated as he moved a strand of hair out of his sister's face. "Stay with her. Me and Tatsuo will be fine…" Kushina was about to say something when she saw the expression on her son's face. Sighing, she nodded before disappearing in a swirl of water droplets and wind, along with Kasumi.

"If you don't mind…" Hayate suddenly spoke up from behind Naruto, causing the boy to let out a frightened yelp before spinning around to face the sickly jounin. "We have some more matches to get through." Nodding to the jounin with a sheepish smile on her face, the blonde genin leaped onto the wall before running up to join his remaining teammate.

Coughing into his hand for another few seconds, Hayate allowed the large screen to cycle through names. Seconds passed as the names began to slow down before they stopped on two in particular. "Next up…" the sickly jounin announced as he eyed the names on the screen. "Temari Sabaku of Sunagakure against Sai…from Konohagaure!"

"Well this ought to be entertaining…" Tatsuo stated as he leaned against the railing. His eyes followed the two contestants as they made their way to the center of the arena. Looking over to his teammate, the boy frowned upon seeing the blonde only half paying attention to the fight. He must have been worried about his sister. "Hey, don't worry about Kasumi. She's too tough to stay down for long…" His words were only partially effective, earning a smile from the Uzumaki boy. Sighing, the Uchiha looked down to the arena, taking in the appearance of the Sand Kunoichi.

Temari was fair-skinned with teal eyes. Her sandy blonde hair was tied into four spiky ponytails. The girl's outfit consists of a single light purple-coloured, off-the-shoulders garment that extended halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. She also seemed to be wearing a fishnet under shirt along with fishnet stockings around her right calf and left thigh. The girl also had a weapon holster attached to her hip, with blue shinobi sandals on her feet. A large rectangular object, made of a metal alloy most likely, was hung across her back.

"Alright you two," Hayate stated. "You know the drill. Fight until one of you goes down or until I think one of you is beat. Ready?" Earning a grunt from blonde girl and an eerie smile from the pale boy, the jounin shrugged before raising his hand. "Begin!" with that, he swung his hand down before hopping backwards, out of the two genin's way.

Neither of the teens moved, choosing to simply stand where they were. Temari looked to be sizing up her opponent, while Sai himself was merely smiling with his eyes closed. "What's the matter?" the blonde kunoichi began her tone of voice confident. "Not going to attack?" Sai didn't respond, choosing to simply tilt his head ever so slightly as he opened his eyes and gazed at his adversary. "Alright then…I'll just go first then!" Grabbing onto the metallic object on her back, the girl swung it around, opening it in the process. A gust of wind launched forth from the now open fan, kicking up a cloud of dust as it crashed into the unfazed Leaf genin.

Gasps escaped a few of the watchers, Sakura included since she'd awoken from her fight with Ino. A moment passed as Temari merely stood there, wondering if she'd actually beaten her idiotic opponent in a single move. Her eyes widened immediately however as a pack of ink-made lions exploded out from the cloud of dust and barreled towards her. Swinging her fan back around, she sent forth another gale of wind that sliced through the incoming animals. Her ears picked up some sound over to her right, prompting her to jerk her head in that direction.

She jumped backwards to avoid being mauled by another lion, folding her fan and then using it to pound the creature's face in. A second later, she heard the whizzing of shuriken. Bringing her closed fan up, she blocked the incoming projectiles only to feel something wrap around her legs. Fangs sunk into her calves, prompting a grunt of pain from the girl before she crushed the ink serpents that had gotten to her unnoticed.

A sudden thud behind her caused her to roll out of the way as the blade of a tanto sliced through the air where she'd just been. Rolling back onto her feet, she brought her fan up to block another slash from Sai's tanto, before proceeding to kick the teen in his chest. Stumbling backwards, Sai frowned before he was smashed in the side of the head, courtesy of Temari's fan. This only ended up splashing ink across the ground as the clone splashed into a puddle of grey.

"What?!" Temari shouted before turning around and swinging her fan, destroying the pack of lions that sprang towards her with a flurry of wind blades. Noticing the crouched genin a good distance away from her she smirked. "You're pretty good. I've never seen someone use ink for jutsu…" The only response she earned was a calm smile, before Sai swung his arm around and finished another piece of art. Several birds exploded out from his scroll before rushing towards the surprised blonde. "Nice try!" the girl stated before swinging her fan once more. She managed to destroy a few of the incoming creatures, but several more managed to circle around her.

She was about to swing her fan once more, when she noticed the exploding tags attached to the feet of the birds. "Shit!" was all she was able to say before the tags detonated, engulfing the girl in the explosion and smoke that followed. Sai didn't take any chances, creating several more lions that rushed towards the cloud of smoke. They didn't get very far however as the smoke burst forth as a vicious gust of wind sliced through the ink-made animals. Sai's eyes widened before he was suddenly smashed into the wall behind him, the wind cutting into his skin and clothes.

Temari stood leaning against her fan, breathing a little heavy as she dusted off a few burnt patches on her clothes. "Is that the best you've got?!" she taunted, a condescending smirk on her features as she gazed at the injured Sai. Her response was another horde of birds rushing towards her, only to be destroyed by another gale of wind. Just as she destroyed the creatures however, she heard the sound of metal cutting through air. She spun around just as the cold steel of a blade sunk into her side, smashing her elbow into the side of her opponent's face. The genin burst into ink once again, leaving her wide open for an attack from behind.

The Suna kunoichi felt the claws of a lion sink into her back, before she burst into smoke, leaving a simple log in her place. Sai's eyes darted over to his side, only to see his opponent rubbing a trail of blood onto her fan with her thumb. " **Wind Style: Wind Scythe!** " the girl roared, launching forth a literal tornado of wind towards her foe. Sai wasn't able to avoid the incoming technique in time and ended up being caught in the center of the attack. He let out a loud grunt of pain as he felt the blades of wind cutting into his body before suddenly being engulfed in a small cloud of white smoke. The smoke dissipated to reveal a cut up log, the same one Temari had used not a minute ago.

The blonde kunoichi growled under her breath as she jerked her head around to see her opponent finishing up another one of his artworks. A flock of birds rocketed towards her, intent on smashing into her at full speed. "Stop with the dumb paintings already!" Temari roared as she swung her fan viciously, putting in more chakra than ever. A whirlwind burst forth, cutting through everything in its path as it gouged through the floor. Sai's eye widened in fear before he leapt out of the way. The boy still felt some of the blades of wind slice into him, even after having dodged the massive technique. Looking up, he noticed his opponent preparing to swing her oversized fan once more.

Smiling at her, he raised a single hand just as she was about to swing her weapon once more. "I forfeit," were the only words that left his mouth. Silence reigned through the arena before Temari closed her fan and leaned against it, eyeing the boy wearily. Her breathing was labored and her shirt was bloody from the back and side. The girl hadn't expected one of the dumb Leaf ninja to put up such a good fight. She'd let her guard down and paid for it. Her only hope was that her brother didn't decide to punish her for doing so. A shiver ran down her spine just from the thought of it.

"Is that so?" Hayate asked, raising a curious eyebrow. This was a sudden turn of events. One moment the boy was fighting on even grounds against the blonde kunoichi. The next instant, he surrenders. It was definitely odd to say the least. "Alright…the winner is Temari Sabaku of Sunagakure then!"

As the genin were accompanied away to be treated, Hayate looked at the arena around him. It had been perfectly fine an hour ago. And then shit had hit the fan with these last two matches. He only hoped the others wouldn't be as bad. Looking up at the Hokage, he raised an eyebrow and gestured to the damage with a tip of his head. Hiruzen nodded to the man, prompting him to sigh before coughing into his hand once more. "We'll be taking a short break for now," the jounin announced as he looked over the remaining candidates. "The rest of the matches will be held in an hour or so, after the arena has been repaired adequately."

"Aw man!" Naruto shouted when he heard the proctor's words. "And I was sure I'd be up next! What am I going to do for another hour?!"

Shaking his head at the blonde's words, Tatsuo began walking out of the chamber. "We could visit your sister, you know…" the raven-haired teen stated as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. A moment passed before Naruto's mind processed his friend's words. The blonde then proceeded to run after the teen to catch up.

Hayate sighed as he watched the rest of the competitors exit the chamber. He wasn't sure how or why. But he just had a feeling that these exams were going to be way more trouble than they were worth. And not because they had to deal with Orochimaru running around. No, he felt like the genin taking part in the exam were going to be far more trouble. Sighing, he began walking out of the arena as the Hokage motioned for his ANBU to call a couple of jounin to fix up the damaged arena.

* * *

 **Done! That felt good to write. Tons of action and lots of damage. Hopefully it wasn't too repetitive, but I feel like it was a fun fight. Anyways, not sure who I'll be making fight next. I'll have to see. Anyways, feel free to review or PM me if you have anything you'd like to say or ask. I'll see you guys again in two weeks I guess. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Anyways, as always...Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read another one of my chapters. Hope you have a great day and/or night ahead. Seeya next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

**So...this is kind of awkward isn't it. As ya'll can see...I'm back. And I guess I've got some major explaining to do regarding my long absence. So, I'll get straight to it. The reasons behind why I haven't been updating this story for the past few months are a few. For one, like I stated in the last chapter, I had to deal with some very important exams. These exams ended somewhere around the middle of june and had me preparing for them for months before they actually started. Other than this, I also had a few...personal problems to take care of. Lastly, after my exams ended last month I just didn't feel like writing. Sorta lost my drive and all that. So I took a break from it, mostly because I didn't want to give you all a half-baked chapter that wasn't really well written.**

 **But a few days ago, I decided to try and get back into the swing of things. Having gotten over the metaphorical hangover my exams left me in, I finally forced myself to sit down, put some music on and start writing with a dope AMV playing to the side of my screen. Before I get into this next chapter, I want to clarify something. I won't be putting out chapters on a regular schedule. I'd atleast like to get one out each month, or more frequently if I can. But as of right now, I really don't want to set the expectations of my readers too high (If they've still stuck with me during this gap, that is) and end up disappointing them by not being able to post chapters on time.**

 **In regards to the reviews I received for the last chapter, I'll answer them real quick. Firstly, the reason why I made Aiko and Hiroshi seem so strong in the last chapter is because they aren't necessarily genin. Let me explain. Although the Chunin Exam is to test genin, it's never specified that it's for rookies. Although I'm not saying that is the case, although it might be, Aiko and her teammate could very well be experienced ninja who just haven't earned the rank of chunin yet for whatever reason. Also, Aiko's seals although unusual make for an interesting fighting style. I do have a proper backstory in mind for both Aiko and Hiroshi, so you all don't have to worry about that at the moment. I'll probably get to that in the next few chapters. And also, I know that Temari isn't the most adept at hand-to-hand combat. Which is why the most I had her do in that situation was swing her oversized fan around like a mallet. I don't think there's a lot of skill required in doing that is there. (Insert cheeky wiggling of my eyebrows here)  
**

 **Well, that's actually it I think. There weren't any other questions about the story after the last chapter. I guess that's it then. Let's get on with this next chapter. Oh, one more thing before that though. This chapter, along with the next one probably, will be much shorter than my previous ones. Not because I don't want to write them, although my long break may mean they are slightly off quality-wise, but because there isn't much I can do to prolong the next few fights. I also want to bring the preliminary rounds to a close so that I can get to some of the more juicy bits of the story since all the fighting is getting slightly boring and repetitive in my opinion.**

* * *

Chapter 16

Shikamaru stood lazily on one side of the arena, gazing casually at his opponent. Kin Tsuchi was her name. A kunoichi from the Village Hidden in the Sound. The girl had long black hair, tied near the end. She had fair skin and black eyes, with a slightly rounded face. A forehead protector, depicting the music note symbol that signified her as a Sound ninja, was tied around her forehead. Her attire consisted of a pale green vest along with baggy grey pants, aswell as a scarf, which adorned a snake-like blotched pattern.

A small bead of sweat formed on the lazy Nara's brow as he acted cool on the outside. But the truth was, he was anything but calm. Back in the Forest of Death, his team had intervened to help Team 7 against this very kunoichi and her teammates. The thing that alarmed him, however, wasn't how strong this team seemed. The true frightening aspect of this fight was how his opponent had seen him use his **Shadow Posession Jutsu**. Meanwhile, he had no idea as to what she herself was capable of. Letting out a sigh, the pineapple-headed genin rubbed the back of his neck before he returned his attention to the girl infront of him. "You say something?" he questioned, sticking his pinky in his ear and wiggling it about.

Kin scowled at the boy's lack of seriousness. Did he really think she'd be such an easy opponent. A menacing smile spread across her face at the thought. She'd make him regret ever thinking in such a way. "Not really," she responded to his earlier question. "I was just musing out loud about how to end you. Maybe I'll do it without taking too much time…" Lifting her hand up revealed several senbon needles gripped tightly between the fingers of her closed fist.

"Well, since you two seem ready to go…" Hayate began, taking a look at the both of them. He wondered if this match would be as interesting as the last few. Receiving nods from both the genin, he lifted his hand up into the air. "Alright…start!" Leaping out of the way, he watched intently as both ninja didn't move a muscle.

"What's the matter?" questioned Kin, smirking at her enemy. "Too chicken to move?" She let out an involuntary growl when she heard the black-haired Leaf shinobi sigh. "Fine! I'll just finish this quickly then!" her words were followed by the senbon in her hand speeding towards the lazy teen. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes before dropping down into a crouch, the metal needles flying over him and plunging into the wall behind him. A near-silent jingle caught his attention from behind.

"Bells eh?" the boy mused, rising to his proper height once more. "That's a pretty old trick, you know. What? You going to throw one with and one without a bell now?" Rubbing the back of his neck, the Konoha genin tilted his head in confusion when he saw the girl infront of him grin. Another jingle from behind him forced his eyes to widen in shock, turning around to look behind him he noticed the same bell attached to the earlier needle shaking slightly. "What?!"

A chuckle from the black-haired girl caused him to curse, before spinning around just in time to bring his arms up. Pain filled his upper arms as the senbon dug into his biceps. "Did you really think I'd try such an idiotic tactic?" he heard his opponent ask.

"Well I was definitely hoping you would…" the Nara muttered before rising to his feet. "But it's my turn now." His words were followed by him bringing his hands up into his clan's signature handseal. But before he could even launch his counterattack, he heard the jingling of bells once more. Suddenly, a massive headache exploded in his head as his world began to spin. "What's going on here…?"

He heard Kin's voice, almost as if it was echoing from all around her. Looking up he noticed dozens of copies of the kunoichi surrounding him. "You won't be doing anything of the sort anytime soon," he heard the girl's voice resound around him. "Wondering what's happening to you? You see, these bells are special." Another jingle caused the lazy genin's vision to swim as he brought his hands up to try and block out the sound. "That won't help. The sound of these bells pierces into the listener's mind. You're probably too far gone by now!"

Shikamaru grit his teeth, hearing the ringing of the bells grow louder even as he pressed his hands harder over his ears. He looked up before his eyes widened upon seeing dozens of needles flying towards him. Bringing his arms up once more, the teen felt two of the weapons dig into his right thigh. "Next I'll throw four," Kin's voice echoed from around him. "Then six. I'll keep going until you look like a hedgehog!"

"You wench!" the pineapple-haired boy mumbled loudly, gaining the girl's attention. "You said you'd end this quickly…" Earning a loud chuckle from the girl, the boy frowned as he heard the bells ring once more.

"So you're in so much pain, you'd rather I just end it all?" the black-haired kunoichi mused. Chuckling she brought up another pair of senbon, ignoring the shouts of alarm coming from some of the genin up in the stands. "Fine then. I'll end this with one last attack!" Pulling her arm back, she swung the limb forward.

"What?!" echoed through the otherwise silent chamber as the audience watched in surprise. Shikamaru lazily cleaned his ear as he gazed at his opponent through half-lidded eyes. The boy slowly rose to his feet, pulling out the senbon that were embedded into his skin. He let out a yawn before shaking his head sleepily to get rid of the remaining traces of his headache.

"Are all Sound ninja as loud as you?" the pineapple-haired boy questioned. His opponent let out an involuntary growl at the question. "I swear. First your loudmouthed teammate that fought Shino and now you." The lazy genin noted the way his opponent grit her teeth in anger and decided to finish the fight before things got any more annoying.

"What's going on?!" the Sound kunoichi screamed, trying futily to move her limbs. Her body had gone stiff mid-throw and now refused to move. Slowly her hand unclenched, letting the senbon clatter loudly as they hit the floor. The arm sunk back down to her side as her other hand was forced to let go of the ninja wire connected to the bell behind her opponent. To her surprise, however, the shadow from her length of metal thread did not disappear. A second passed before the shadow itself began to move, slowly morphing into a much fatter one that connected to both her and her enemy.

"Since you already knew about my technique," Shikamaru began as he stretched his arms above his head, forcing the girl across from him to do the same. "I had to figure out a way to use it on you without you noticing." Letting out a sigh, the teen let out a mumbled 'troublesome' before rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well?" the boy heard the Sound kunoichi say. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her whilst tilting his head in question. "How do you plan on beating me when I'll just copy everything you do?" Shikamaru didn't respond for a moment, choosing to just stare at the girl. The rest of the audience wondered what he was thinking. That was when they heard a chuckle escape his lips before it turned into full blown laughter. Kin scowled, enraged that the teen was laughing at her. "What's so funny?!" she yelled out to him, wishing she could wipe the smug look off of his face.

"Sorry…" the boy responded as he calmed down, before bringing his hand up to rub his shoulder, his opponent being forced to mimic the action aswell. "It's just that I didn't realize anyone could be as dumb as you were right then." Sighing the boy's eyes suddenly lost all their mirth as he looked at the kunoichi before him. Kin felt a sudden fear rise to the top of her mind as the boy reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a kunai. She realized all too late that even though she was mimicking his every move, the fact remained that they weren't the same person. She wasn't wearing the same clothes as him. And she definitely didn't have a kunai stashed away in the same place he did. "Why would you think I wouldn't keep a weapon that I could reach when in this exact situation?"

His grip tightening around the blade, the pineapple-headed boy pulled his arm back before letting the weapon fly towards his opponent. Kin stopped breathing, her body copying the boy's movements but not having a weapon of her own to launch. The blade flew towards her face, her body still frozen and incapable of doing anything to prevent her impending death. And then it was over, she felt the trickle of blood down her cheek as the kunai clanged and fell to the floor after bouncing off of the wall behind her. She regained control of her body and collapsed to her knees. Her eyes merely staring at the ninja that walked away from her, waving his hand casually as he moved for the stairs. "And that's game…" she heard his words before he vanished from her sight, climbing back up to the spectator's section of the chamber.

"You alright?" the Sound kunoichi heard the proctor ask. She didn't respond verbally, simply nodding before she stood up shakily. She'd known of his abilities, yet she lost in the most humiliating way. The feeling of having no control of yourself as you meet your demise. Not being able to do a thing about it. A shiver went down her spine as she walked towards the stairs, her body still trembling. A single hand reached up to run over the slowly bleeding cut on her cheek. A little more to the left and she wouldn't even be breathing. The Nara clan was a truly terrifying group of people indeed.

Naruto gave his fellow Leaf genin a hard pat on the back once he rejoined them up in the stands. "That was awesome man!" the blonde teen exclaimed as he smiled at his lazy friend. Shikamaru rolled his eyes before simply mumbling his signature 'troublesome', right before he was dragged away by an ecstatic Ino. The teen couldn't help but wonder why he had to be subjected to such torture as his loud female teammate began yelling at him about how he shouldn't have waited so long to beat his opponent.

A cough brought everyone's attention back down to the center of the arena. Hayate stood at the center as he motioned to the electronic screen up above. Names were running through the monitor, gaining the attention of all the genin and their jounin superiors. It felt like ages, but the names finally slowed down before coming to an abrupt halt. A loud cheer erupted from the stands as Naruto leapt off of the railing in excitement. Tatsuo sighed at his hyperactive teammate's antics before smacking himself in the face upon seeing Kiba leap off into the arena in the same way.

Hayate coughed, raising an eyebrow at the exuberant nature of the next two competitors. "The next match is between Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure and Kiba Inazuka of Konohagakure!" the jounin proctor announced as he looked at both the genin.

"Alright mutt!" Naruto yelled at his friend, a toothy grin adorning his face. "You ready to get your sorry ass kicked?!" His words earned him a loud laugh from his opponent who looked back at him with just as much confidence.

"What're you babbling about?" the feral boy questioned as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Me and Akamaru are going to pummel you into the ground!" The member of Team 8 received a loud bark from his canine companion that caused him to smile even wider. "You got that right Akamaru!"

Tatsuo sighed up in the stands, looking over to see Shino simply gazing down into the arena with his usual calculating…sunglasses. He looked over to see Hinata biting her finger. He chuckled upon realizing how conflicted the girl must have been. On one hand, it was her crush fighting. And on the other it was her teammate. She probably didn't know who to root for. Either way it was bound to be a fun match to watch. Both Naruto and Kiba were similar in the way that they were both loudmouthed and brash. They thought less during fights and relied more on brute strength quite often. Even though Naruto had his clones to back him up, they were fragile. Meanwhile Tatsuo didn't know much about the Inazuka, but from the little knowledge he did have he guessed that Akamaru was definitely going to play a big role during this fight to even out the odds.

"If both of you are ready?" Hayate began, earning nods from both the genin. Kiba hunched over, with Akamaru hopping off of his head to land beside him. Naruto brought his arms up infront of him, ready to defend against any initial attack his friend was going to start the fight off with. "Alright then…begin!" Hayate announced before leaping back out of the middle of the two combatants. Kiba rushed towards the blonde genin, running through a few quick handseals before suddenly hunching over into a crouch. A second passed as Naruto narrowed his eyes in confusion, noticing how the way Kiba hunched over shouldn't have been possible. But the next moment, the feral boy lunged at the Uzumaki child on all fours.

Naruto hopped to the side just in the nick of time, avoiding the double downward slashes from Kiba's clawed hands. He didn't get a chance to strike back before he was assaulted by the member of Team 8. Kiba pounced on his opponent with a horizontal slash that passed by an inch away from the orange-clad teen's face. The brown-haired shinobi then went for an upward swing, his right clawed hand moving swiftly to try and catch his former classmate off guard. However, Naruto was quick to react. The boy sidestepped the speedy strike before smashing into Kiba with a shoulder charge.

Taking advantage of the situation as the Inazuka boy stumbled backwards, he went for a hard punch that sent the teen skidding across the ground. Smirking when he saw the brunette rise to his feet once more, he crossed his arms as he stared at him. "Is that the best you can do mutt?" he taunted, earning a chuckle from the fanged genin.

"Not even close," Kiba replied, wiping away a small trail of blood trickling down his chin from his busted lower lip. "I was just checking to see if you'd gotten soft after all this time." The brown-haired Leaf genin chuckled once more before digging into his weapon pouch. "Trust me, you haven't seen this one yet…" he stated, before tossing a pill over to Akamaru, who had run over to him when he'd been thrown back by the blonde's punch.

"Huh?" was all Naruto could say as he saw the small white puppy catch the medicine in his mouth before swallowing it. A few seconds passed before the cute animal let out a primal growl, its skin turning a deep shade of red, as its fur stood on end. "What's happening to Akamaru?"

Kiba smirked before hunching over onto all fours. "Akamaru!" he called to his partner, who responded by letting out a series of barks. " **Man Beast Clone!** " Naruto's eyes widened upon seeing a cloud of white smoke engulf the small animal before it dispersed to reveal another Kiba crouched on all fours next to the original. "You ready, Uzumaki?!" Kiba roared as both he and the newly transformed Akamaru rocketed towards the stunned blonde.

Tatsuo grinned as the fight finally began. He'd seen how both the fighters had engaged eachother initially to gauge the other's strength. Now the real battle was underway. Beside him, he heard Hinata gasp. The black-haired boy also heard a slight buzzing, which he assumed meant Shino was intrigued aswell.

Naruto grit his teeth as he blocked a punch from one of the Kiba copies, only to have his feet swiped from under him. The teen took it in stride however, using his hands to brace himself before twisting around to kick one of the brunette's in the face. The kick itself wasn't really all that hard, but it was enough to push the Kiba he'd struck a few steps away. That was all the time the orange-clad teen needed, his hands coming together in an all-too-familiar handseal. Two puffs of smoke signified the appearance of a pair of clones that latched onto the remaining Kiba's arms. The boy let out a surprised whimper before he found a pair of feet buried in his torso that sent him skidding back as the clones let go of his limbs.

The real Naruto hopped to his feet, his two clones standing on either side of him protectively. "Solid clones, eh?" questioned the Kiba he'd kicked in the face. The member of Team 6 smirked before bringing his arms up in his fighting stance, with his clones following suit. "Now this just got a lot more fun!"

Kiba and Akamaru rushed towards the three Naruto copies, their eyes focused on the one in the center. The two clones rushed ahead to meet the two feral boys, only to be dispersed when the two teens leapt over them, using them as platforms to boost themselves ahead even faster. Naruto wasn't the least bit bothered however. The teen narrowed his eyes as both the Kibas approached him from the air before running through a few handseals. " **Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!** " he exclaimed, puffing out his chest before blowing out a gale of wind that sent the two incoming genin flying back into the far wall of the arena. He didn't stop there though, choosing to form the cross-shaped handseal that he'd gotten so accustomed to.

Kiba looked up the moment he landed on the ground, only for his eyes to widen when he took note of the dozens of clones rushing towards him and his partner. He grit his teeth before the clones pounced on them, practically engulfing them. Naruto smirked at the scene, before his eyes widened as his clones were suddenly flung out in every direction. Two spinning tornadoes emerged from the mass of bodies, rotating at dangerous speeds. The blonde Uzumaki heard Kiba's voice echo out from one of the spinning masses, " **Fang Over Fang!** "

The two twisters changed course, turning in wide arcs before barreling towards him. The teens eyes widened before he ran through another series of handseals. " **Wind Style: Air Bullets!** " the blonde announced as several orbs of compressed air formed around him before rocketing towards the oncoming threats. The spheres of wind collided with the tornadoes, exploding into clouds of dust before being dispersed as the spinning projectiles continued on towards the shocked Naruto.

Not being able to move out of the way in time, the golden-haired boy found the two spinning tornadoes smashing into him, cutting into his skin and sending him hurtling towards the wall behind him. Kiba and his copy emerged from their techinique, landing on the grounds whilst skidding slightly as they came to a halt. Their eyes held slight worry as they looked up at their friend, who was currently lying motionless on the ground. "Shit! I think we overdid it Akamaru!" Kiba shouted over to his friend, before hearing a groan come from the motionless genin.

"Damn…" Naruto muttered out loud, as he slowly pushed himself up off of the ground. Many gasped at the state he was in, atleast from the front. His skin was scratched, cut and bruised all over while his jacket and shirt were in tatters. Ino and Hinata blushed upon seeing his exposed chest, and Tatsuo chuckled at the casual way his teammate was taking his injuries. "Jeez, that one hurt like hell!" His words caused a few to sweatdrop upon seeing him stand up and dust himself off like nothing had happened.

"What the hell?!" Kiba shouted at the blonde, pointing at him in a comedic fashion. "How're you still standing?! You took that attack head on!" A bead of sweat slowly trickled down his face, as he realized that his signature technique hadn't done nearly enough damage to his opponent. That was definitely bad for him. He didn't know his former classmate was this sturdy.

"Jeez Kiba…" Naruto called out to his opponent, rolling his shoulders to lessen the pain a little. "You could've warned me about how much that would hurt, you know…" His words earned him blank looks from everyone present in the chamber. Realizing how dumb that sounded, the blonde smiled sheepishly before rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyways, my turn!" he stated out loud, forming a single handseal. A dozen clones appeared around him once more, rushing towards the Inazuka boy and his look-alike. The two brunettes took a few steps back before crouching low once more.

"We ain't done yet!" Kiba roared, darting towards the oncoming clones with his partner right beside him. " **Fang Over Fang!** " The two leapt into the air before breaking into their spinning. The two spiraling boys twisted in the air before smashing into the horde of clones, dispersing one after the other. Noticing the Naruto in the back, the two turned towards him before crashing through the other clones and rocketing towards him. "Let's see if you can get up again after this!" Kiba's voice echoed out of one of the twisters, prompting their target to smirk. A second later, however, their target disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving a single paper tag fluttering to the ground.

An explosion knocked both the brown-haired copies of Kiba off course and to the ground. Looking up, the original found himself having to roll to the side to avoid a brutal dropkick from Naruto. Hopping onto his feet, the member of Team 8 brought his arms up to block a punch from the blonde. He didn't expect to be caught from behind though, finding a kick slamming hard into the side of his head. His vision swimming, the original Kiba stumbled to the side before receiving a knee to his gut that forced the air out of his lungs. Falling to his knees, he looked up to see Akamaru skid across the ground after being kicked by a pair of Naruto clones.

"Gotcha!" Naruto exclaimed, kicking the teen into the air. Kiba's eyes widened in shock when he realized he'd lost. It wasn't something he didn't think could happen, however he hadn't expected to have been outclassed by such a huge margin. The gap between his and Naruto's skills became even more evident when he noticed the single copy of the blonde appear next to him in the air. And then pain exploded throughout his body as he was sent crashing to the ground with a brutal drop kick that left him sprawled out on the floor, his world spinning and filled with pain.

The teen barely made out the words of the proctor as he announced Naruto the winner. He saw the blonde kneeling next to him looking at him apologetically before giving the boy a weak smirk. Coughing a bit, the brown-haired teen spoke a few words before he passed out. "Next time…just you wait…" Naruto sighed in relief when he noticed that his friend had merely fallen unconscious. For a moment there he was afraid he'd hurt him more than he'd meant to. As the medical personnel came in to take care of the boy and his animal companion, his sensei appeared next to him. The red-eyed beauty gave him a proud smile, as she escorted him to the medical bay.

Naruto rose to his feet before stretching his arms. That had been a fun fight. Looking down at his attire, he frowned upon realizing he'd just lost a set of his favorite clothes. Pouting, he waved off the medical staff when they attempted to help him before moving towards the stairs to the stands. He'd heal up soon enough anyways. But right now, he wanted to see who'd be fighting next.

His question was answered when he heard the proctor announce the names of the next two combatants a few minutes later. "Next round, Choji Akimichi of Konohagakure against Dosu Kinuta of Otogakure!"

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 **And that's that. Sorry if you all were disappointed at not seeing much action in Naruto's fight. Our blonde friend simply outclasses Kiba way too hard. I did try and make it look pretty interesting, I hope. In the end, there wasn't much Kiba could have done to beat Naruto. His attacks would've done decent damage if he'd landed more of them. But seeing as Naruto's fought much stronger opponents in the past, it wasn't too much trouble for him to outlast the dog boy. Overall, I'm thinking of putting out one more chapter for the preliminaries before moving onto the month gap. Next chapter will be Tatsuo's match, something I've wanted to write for a while since it's more...lighthearted than the other fights up to this point. Ya'll can take a wild guess as to who his opponent will be. It shouldn't be too hard of a guess.  
**

 **Anyways, that's all for this chapter. Shorter than my other ones but...meh. And I already know it isn't up to par with my usual work. It's mostly because I'm getting back into the whole writing shtick. Next one probably won't be too much better because I'm going to be trying a more easygoing approach. It'll be me experimenting with a bit more fun style of over-the-top combat. Or maybe I'm just being overdramatic. I don't know really. Feel free to correct any of my grammatical mistakes in this chapter if you find them. Just let me know and I'll get em corrected as soon as possible. Anyways, thanks for reading my latest chapter. And thanks for sticking with me long enough to be able to read this chapter. Hope you have a great day, and or night, ahead. Bye!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello again! Sorry for not updating last week. Although I did have most of this chapter prepared beforehand, I had to visit relatives for some time. And not having access to a computer, I wasn't really able to properly check through this chapter, hence the late update. Still, it did help me relax. With school starting back up in a few days, I'm expecting updates to be scattered. Nothing new at this point I guess. Other than that, there isn't much to say really. Noone seems to have had any problems with the last chapter. Hopefully you all are enjoying the story so far. Or atleast find it to be bearable. Wonder how many of you actually even read the author's notes in these chapters. Oh well.**

 **In regards to the story, this will probably be the last chapter pertaining to the preliminary rounds of the Chunin Exams. I might use the start of the next chapter to decide on the match-ups for the next part. Anyways, this chapter might seem a bit off. That's because I've been looking forward to this fight for a while. And I ended up going a bit...crazy, so to speak. This fight probably won't seem all that logical or 'ninja-like' in the way that there are probably a number of things that could have been handled much better. But I wanted to take a bit more of a humorous approach to this one. Tell me what you guys think if you have any complaints or advice. I'm open to criticism. Heck I don't even care if you flame me. So long as you can back up what you say with some proof. I'm only human afterall. I make mistakes too.**

 **Disclaimer: I donot own the Naruto series. Nor do I own any additions to this story that may have been taken from other franchises. I own only the ideas and the original stuff I put into this fic.**

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Chapter 17

Silence. Not a sound could be heard in the large chamber where the preliminary rounds were being held. The audience had their eyes glued to the scene, the emotions running through them a mixture of shock, surprise, anger and apathy. The Hokage frowned as he bore witness to what had occurred between the two genin in the arena. Down in the center of the field stood several people. The first was a teen with fair skin and long black hair, tied into a ponytail just a few inches above the end. His pupil-less white eyes bore holes into the two genin infront of him. The boy wore a pale white over-shirt with a dull blue shirt underneath. If one were to look closely they would be able to make out the edges of mesh armor underneath the boy's undershirt. Along with this, the teen wore brown shorts, blue ninja sandals and had bandages wrapped around his right arm and leg. Tied around his forehead was the headband that signified him as a shinobi of the Leaf. This was Neji Hyuga, member of Team 9, also known as Team Guy.

The boy had his palm extended outwards, arm twitching in anger. The wrist of said arm was in the tight grip of Kakashi Hatake, the man casually holding his ever-present orange book infront of his face with the other hand. To his right was Asuma Sarutobi, his arm locked around the young genin's neck whilst he used his other hand to casually take a long drag from the cigarette in his mouth. Over to his left, Neji found Hayate crouched on the ground, the tip of his sword dangerously close to the Hyuga's chest. Finally, behind the young ninja stood his sensei, Might Guy. The bowl-haired jounin had his hand firmly clasped around his student's free arm. His grip was insanely tight, the man's eyes filled with disappointment.

Infront of the genin, however, was Naruto. The boy was crouched on the ground holding the Hyuga heiress in his arms. Hinata's eyes were half-lidded as she teetered on the edge of consciousness. She stared up doubtfully at her crush, wondering if he was disappointed in her. The smile on the blonde's face, on the other hand, put all her worries to rest. Smiling contentedly, the shy girl closed her eyes before slowly slipping into blissful unconsciousness. Kurenai stood next to the two genin, her eyes slightly wide in shock. For a brief moment, she'd lost track of the young Uzumaki as he'd sped towards her student. She herself had reacted instantly, appearing to swoop Hinata out of the way of what was no doubt intended to be a lethal strike. By the time she'd reached the girl though, Naruto was already there. It was an impossible feat, she thought to herself, knowing she'd been travelling at her fastest.

Tatsuo himself had to blink. He looked over to his side, making sure that what he was seeing was real. The boy hadn't even noticed his teammate move. He had felt the slight surge in the boy's chakra, the tinge of malice he'd felt back in the Forest of Death. The same malevolent feeling that he'd associated with the chakra of the Ninetails. And then, his friend had been in the arena with the member of Team 8 safely lying in his arms. Shaking his head to snap himself out of his stupor, the black-haired ninja simply had one thought run through his mind at that moment. Just how strong _was_ Naruto.

Kneeling down next to the two, Kurenai ripped open Hinata's jacket and checked for her heartbeat. She decided to put aside any thoughts of the speed she'd witnessed from the blonde next to her for the moment. Right now, her student needed her. Letting out a sigh of relief upon feeling the girl's beating heart, she sent a quick glare towards Neji before reaching for her student. "I'll get her to the medical wing…" her words reached the Uzumaki boy next to her, earning a nod from the genin before she vanished in a swirl of leaves with Hinata in her arms.

"More favoritism for the Main Branch I see…" Neji mumbled, not being able to hide the underlying anger in his voice. He felt the four jounin around him release him from his restrained position, straightening himself as he glared at the blonde infront of him. Naruto had risen to his feet, yet had not turned to face the rest of those present in the arena. "Pathetic…"

There was a sudden burst of chakra and, for the briefest of moments, all those present felt a sudden fear clutch at their hearts. Then it was gone. Neji's eyes narrowed as he watched the blonde boy who'd saved his cousin turn to meet his gaze. His eyes met the slitted red ones of the genin infront of him, surprising the long-haired Hyuga. Naruto didn't speak, simply taking a few slow steps towards the boy so that he was standing a few mere inches away from him. "You better hope you don't fight me in the finals…" the blonde's voice was low, but the threatening tone he spoke in did more than any amount of yelling would have done. "Because I promise to make sure you regret what you did today." And with that, the moment passed. The orange-wearing ninja walked away, heading towards the stairs which led to the stands.

"I'm disappointed, Neji…" Guy stated, his voice soft yet commanding. "What you attempted to do was wrong…" The man earned an apathetic look from his student, before the boy walked away towards the stairs.

Hayate slowly sheathed his blade once more, sighing tiredly. "Winner of the match is Neji Hyuga," his words echoed around the silent chamber. Looking over at the other three jounin, he nodded at them before the three moved for the stairs.

"Did you feel it?" questioned Asuma, sending a glance over at his fellow jounin. Earning nods from the two, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Wonder if it's anything we need to worry about." Seeing the masked scarecrow next to him shrug in response and the green spandex clad man simply not respond, Asuma just decided to drop the subject.

Sending a glance up to the Kage booth, Hayate raised an eyebrow at his leader. Hiruzen looked over those present, noting Naruto leaving the chamber. He assumed the boy didn't want to be around Neji at the moment and was probably going to visit his mother and sister. Looking back at the proctor of the exam, he gave the man a silent nod as an indication to continue. Hayate sighed, before turning around and looking up at the screen. "Alright," he began as the names flew by on the screen. "Next match is going to be…"

Tatsuo sighed as he watched his teammate leave the stands. He'd said that he needed to take a walk and maybe go check up on Kasumi. Shaking his head at everything that had happened during these exams, the teen wondered if it was even worth all this trouble to be promoted to chunin. He heard his name being called and smacked himself on the forehead. He just had to jinx himself. Sighing, he looked up at the screen hanging from the roof to look at who he'd be facing. "Tenten, huh?" he muttered to himself, looking around to see who his opponent was. His blood ran cold when he noticed her. A malicious smile nearly split her face as she gazed at him with an unholy madness present within her brown eyes. An audible gulp rang through his ears as he realized who he'd be facing.

"I need to forfeit…" he muttered, his eyes focused on the girl as she hopped off of the stands and into the arena. "There's no way I'm fighting her…besides it isn't like I wanted to enter the-" The boys words were cut off as he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. Slowly turning his head, he looked into the smiling visage of his sensei. What was she doing here?!

"What's the matter, Tatsuo-kun?" she questioned, tilting her head in confusion as to why her student wasn't in the arena already. She'd just gotten back after Naruto had decided to stick around with his sister, hoping to not miss her last student's match after having missed her son's fight. "Don't tell me you're nervous!" she laughed at his annoyed face and then proceeded to give him a firm pat on the back. Said pat, however, was far harder than she'd expected and ended up pushing her student off of the stands, tumbling over the railing before falling silently down to the arena.

Tatsuo's eyes were narrowed in annoyance when he landed on the ground in a crouch. His sensei was way too excited over this. He suddenly froze when he heard the proctor call out to him from behind. Realization crashed painfully into his being when he came to terms with his current situation. Kushina was here. She would make his life a living hell if he were to surrender. Turning his head ever-so-slowly, he chanced a gaze at his opponent. A shiver ran down his spine, upon seeing the bun-haired girl smirking at him.

Turning back to look infront of him at the wall, he slowly rose to his feet. Seemed like this was it. There was no other option he could choose to get out of this. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. No matter how terrifying the girl looked, there was no way she could be anywhere near as dangerous as the opponents he'd faced before. He'd had a run-in with Orochimaru afterall. Turning around he faced the kunoichi, who raised an eyebrow upon seeing him standing all the way at the edge of the arena. "You coming?" Hayate questioned, tilting his head in wonder. What was the boy doing?

Tatsuo waved his hand nonchalantly, giving the man a nervous laugh. "Oh no," he stated, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm fine starting off here."

Hayate was about to reprimand the teen of how it could be considered unfair if he started so far away when he heard Tenten speak. "It's fine," were the words she uttered, smiling gleefully as she gazed at the Uchiha. "Let's just get this started!" Sighing Hayate decided he'd had enough of this drama and raised his hand.

"Fine," he muttered before raising his voice. "Let the match begin!" Instantly jumping away, he followed the shining glint of metal as it flew across the field at a blinding speed. Tatsuo got a single glance at the projectile flying at him, tilting his head on instinct alone as he felt the speeding weapon whizz by his face, a shallow cut forming on his right cheek.

"I'm going to enjoy this…" Tenten nearly sang cheerfully, holding several shuriken in both hands. "Hope you aren't too fond of being a man!" Swinging out her arms, she sent several more of the spinning stars of death at the wide-eyed member of Team 6.

Having let his eyes morph into the sharingan right after receiving the first cut, Tatsuo was prepared this time, although the speed of the flying ninja tools was surprising. Darting out of the way of the speeding projectiles, he narrowed his eyes as he got serious. His opponent seemed rather adept at using projectiles, atleast from the speed and accuracy of the weapons she'd used so far. He couldn't let his guard down and he certainly wouldn't be letting her keep her distance in this fight. The boy cursed himself for not starting the normal distance away from the girl. It was now that he understood why she'd been so uncaring about him starting at the edge of the arena in the first place.

His sharingan spinning wildly, the Uchiha came to a brief halt before flipping sideways to his left to dodge the kunai his opponent had sent rocketing towards where he was initially going and where he had been a second ago. Crouching on the ground, he flooded his feet with chakra, dashing towards the surprised girl in an astounding burst of speed. Flipping out a kunai from his weapon pouch, he caught the weapon in a reverse grip before zigzagging towards the kunoichi to keep her from skewering him.

Tenten smirked, launching another volley of kunai at the fast-approaching ninja. As expected, the teen dodged them all. The girl, however, only smiled as the exploding tags attached to her weapons detonated around the boy. She heard a few gasps from the stands, but she really didn't care at the moment. She'd make the kid suffer. Besides, the tags she'd used were really weak. Her eyes widened as a number of kunai shot out of the smoke her explosives had caused, one of them slicing a shallow cut into her left arm as she dodged to the right. Looking up, she growled as she noticed the unharmed teen casually standing where the cloud of smoke had been a moment ago.

"That was real sneaky," she heard him say, before he darted towards her. Narrowing her eyes in anger, she whipped out a few more shuriken from her weapon pouch before launching them at the approaching genin. Expecting him to dodge the attack, she was rather shocked to see her weapons hit their marks dead on. Her eyes widened further when the target of her attack disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Hearing the sound of steps behind her, she rolled out of the way as her opponent stomped his foot hard on the ground where she'd just been. Seeing the boy smirking at her, she felt her blood boil. How dare he not take her seriously!

"Fine!" she shouted out at him as she grabbed the scrolls around her waist, one in each hand. Leaping back a good distance away from him, she let a smile spread across her face. "You asked for this!" Slamming both rolls of parchment vertically into the ground on either side of her, she brought her hands together infront of her as she ran through a series of handseals, the scrolls balanced on the ground on either side of her.

"She's using that already?" muttered Guy questioningly as he watched the match. "What on earth has her so angry?" Hearing his star student next to him state that she'd been muttering about how someone had called her 'Panda-san' for the duration of the Second Exam, Guy raised an eyebrow. That explained things. Tenten had had a rather troubling past, with her parents being taken from her due to the Kyubi attack. She'd been raised by her uncle who, being a blacksmith, had imparted his obsession of all things sharp and pointy unto his niece. Because of this fascination with weapons, she'd been bullied by a large number of her classmates. One of her nicknames being 'Panda-san' due to the style she wore her hair in. Guy chuckled despite himself. Tenten was dangerous in her own right. But she became far more deadly when pissed off. He only hoped Tatsuo would be able to survive her wrath.

" **Twin Rising Dragons!** " exclaimed the bun-haired kunoichi upon finishing her long series of handseals. Tatsuo looked on as the girl was engulfed in an enormous cloud of smoke, before two spiraling shapes shot forth from the cloud into the air. Focusing on them, he noted how they were in the shape of dragons. The technique was rightfully named he thought. His eyes darted towards Tenten as she shot out from the smoke and high up into the air, the twin dragons spiraling around her before revealing the two insanely long unfolded scrolls that twirled around the girl.

Taking note of the numerous amounts of seals present on both scrolls, Tatsuo gulped audibly and wisely took a few steps back. His caution was well-founded once he saw what happened next. Twirling in between the two twisting scrolls, Tenten started unsealing copious amounts of weapons from the still rising scrolls whilst simultaneously launching each and every one of said weapons at her opponent with deadly accuracy. It didn't help that all of this took place in a matter of seconds in real-time.

"Oh fuck me…" was all the black-haired genin could utter before he was forced to move out of the way of the rain of weapons. He darted to his left, avoiding a group of kunai that embedded themselves into the ground where he'd stood moments ago. His sharingan spinning swiftly, the Uchiha boy slid underneath an oversized shuriken which passed by overhead, clipping a few strands of his hair. Transitioning into a run once more, the boy came to a sudden halt and leapt aside as a pair of kama sliced right past him. Feeling a few of the kunai whizz past him, the boy dashed aside to avoid another volley of flying weapons.

"What the hell?!" he shouted out at his opponent as a spear rocketed past him, clipping his shoulder as he came to a halt to avoid several pointy weapons that had been aimed infront of him. Leaping backwards to avoid another similar spear, he looked over at his opponent once more with wide eyes, droplets of red flying through the air in his wake. Man this was starting to hurt. "You got a fetish for weapons or something!" he screamed as a sickle flew past him, leaving a deep cut in his left arm as he landed on the large statue at one end of the arena. Running up the structure, he pulled out a single kunai.

In his mind, the lazy member of Team 6 had a plan. There was a miniscule gap he'd noticed in between each volley of weapons the girl sent at him. He'd just have to capitalize on that. Reaching the top of the stone monument, the path he'd taken to get up now covered with embedded weapons, the teen leapt off of the head of the statue towards his opponent. Tenten smirked as she launched another hail of kunai and shuriken at the oncoming teen, knowing there was no possible way for him to dodge her attack while in the air.

To her surprise, the boy merely grinned at her as he formed the cross-shaped handseal she'd seen the blonde boy from before use. Three clones popped into existence infront of the teen, acting as meatshields as the weapons stabbed into their forms. Tatsuo let out a cheer of success as his clones blocked the weapons before launching his own kunai straight at the girl. She didn't have any way to block it like he did. To his shock however, the girl didn't even bat an eyelash as she twisted around. A single kunai slid out of her weapon pouch, gracefully depositing itself into her waiting hand before she swung her arm out and sent the blade to intercept his. He'd have made note of how beautifully she executed the maneuver if he wasn't cursing his own idiocy at relying on such a dumb plan in the first place. Clanging as they met in the middle, Tatsuo's eyes widened when he noticed the explosive tag attached to the girl's thrown weapon. "Shit…" was all he could utter before the explosion sent him rocketing back. The same happened to Tenten, the girl flying through the air before landing on the ground in a crouch as she skidded to a halt. Her raven-haired opponent however wasn't so lucky, as he smashed back-first into the statue he'd jumped off of before falling painfully to the ground to land in a crouch.

Gritting his teeth at the pain in his back, Tatsuo looked up just in time to see the bun-haired kunoichi leap into the air. The boy's eyes widened in horror as she pulled her hands back, revealing the uncountable number of metal wires attached to her fingers, leading to all the weapons strewn about. Tatsuo watched in shocked awe as the weapons around him, aswell as most of those that littered the rest of the arena, seemed to tremble before being pulled high up into the air. Looking up at the floating weapons, the black-haired Uchiha let out an involuntary growl as he brought his hands together.

"Take this!" Tenten yelled out as she swung her arms forward from her position in the air, sending the entirety of her army of weapons straight towards her fellow Leaf ninja. A sudden thought occurred to her, causing her to widen her eyes. She'd just killed a fellow Konoha shinobi! Her thoughts on the matter died, however, as she watched the boy finish his chain of handseals before breathing in as his chest seemed to expand. The next instant, a gale of wind flooded the arena, sending all of her weapons flying through the air in random directions. Tenten herself was pushed out of the air, smashing into the far wall before falling to the ground. Twisting as she descended the girl landed in a crouch as she glared up at her opponent.

Tatsuo was breathing heavily. He'd put a lot of chakra into that jutsu. More than he'd put in any jutsu before. It was exhausting. Looking up, the genin's eyes widened before he rolled out of the way to avoid the blunt end of a staff. Grabbing onto one of the nearby weapons, he brought the spear up to block another strike from the metal pole. "Calm down, damn it!" Tatsuo exclaimed before pushing the pink-wearing girl off of him as he hopped to his feet, using the spear to support himself.

"You think you're so slick," Tenten muttered as she glared at the boy infront of her. "You think you're so much better than me with all of your fancy ninjutsu. Well I'll show you!" she shouted out as she dashed towards him, twirling her staff around her before going for a horizontal swing. Tatsuo brought his spear to the side to block the strike, grunting in exertion as he felt the force behind the blow.

"What are you even talking about?!" the Uchiha questioned the girl, spinning around to swing his new weapon at her. He forced her to hop back or risk getting cut by the bladed end of the spear. "I barely even know you! Why are you so intent on killing me?!" Gritting her teeth, the bun-haired girl muttered something under her breath. Tatsuo raised an eyebrow at her words, tilting his head in befuddlement. "What?"

"You called me Panda!" she screamed, a blush on her cheeks as she glared at him. There was silence in the chamber for a moment, with Tenten glaring at her opponent slightly less angry and a bit more embarrassed. Tatsuo meanwhile stood there motionless, his expression blank. Several seconds passed before the boy began to chuckle. His chuckling soon turned into full-blown laughter, prompting Tenten to frown. "What're you laughing at, idiot?!"

Taking a moment to calm himself as he let go of the spear, allowing the weapon to clatter uselessly to the ground, Tatsuo composed himself before pointing at the girl. "You're crazy…" he stated, in a way that felt like he was stating facts rather than making accusations. "There's no other explanation. Or is this a prank?" He began looking around in a comedic fashion, even going so far as to narrow his eyes whilst he used his sharingan to focus. "Seriously…where are the cameras?"

Tenten stood there stunned, as did many of those watching the spectacle. Had the boy lost it? "What?" the kunoichi infront of the Uchiha questioned, wondering what the dumb genin was going on about. "This is not a prank…"

Tatsuo froze, slowly turning to face his opponent. "You're serious…" he muttered, before looking down at the ground as he slowly brought his hand up to rub his forehead. "Why do I always have to get the crazy ones? First Naruto…then my team…now you…" Taking a deep breath, the black-haired youth looked at the girl infront of him before slowly explaining. "I wasn't trying to be mean when I called you Panda-san. I just did so because I didn't know what your name was and it was the first thing that came to mind. I apologize if I offended you, but I can assure you it was not my intention."

Tenten stood there, slightly confused. It did make sense, seeing as she didn't actually know the guy. Plus, he did seem genuinely sorry. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she'd been kinda brash about her treatment of the genin. "Yeah, well…" she began, leaning on her staff slightly as she looked at him. "I guess I was a bit quick to judge too. Sorry about the whole…" here she gestured at him, prompting him to look down at his cut up clothes and the wounds on his body. The girl herself looked away to hide the growing blush on her cheeks. Now she really felt embarrassed.

"Um…" came a voice from a little distance away, that earned the attention of the two genin. Looking over, the two saw Hayate looking at them with an exasperated look. "Are you two actually going to fight or are you two done?"

Turning back to look at eachother, Tenten smiled at her opponent before offering a suggestion. "I'll quit if you do." Her words earned her a thoughtful 'hum' from the boy. Looking over at the mess they'd made, Tatsuo considered surrendering. It would mean less trouble for him in the long run. His eyes wandered up to the stands where he saw his sensei's menacing visage, daring him to surrender. Sighing, the boy looked at the bun-haired girl before shaking his head sadly.

"Although I would like nothing more," he began as he crossed his arms behind his head, flinching slightly at the pain it brought him. "My team would kill me for real if I gave up." Tenten raised an eyebrow at his response before sighing and grinning at the boy.

"Alright then," she stated as she widened her legs, bringing her staff up to get ready to fight again. "Let's settle this then." She tilted her head in confusion, however, when she noticed her opponent waving his hand at her.

"Oh there's no need for that," he stated as he stretched his arms. "You looked into my eyes already." His words were followed by a yelp of surprise from Tenten as she felt something wrap around her before constricting tightly, causing her to drop her staff. The Tatsuo infront of her rippled slightly, along with the world around her, before it suddenly morphed to show a different scene. Two copies of the boy stood on either side of her with their hands pulled back to keep the ninja wire around her taut. Infront of her stood the final Tatsuo, holding a kunai up to her neck as he let out a breath of exhaustion.

"Almost out of chakra too," he muttered before looking up at her surprised visage with a smile. "I'd love to fight some more…" the raven-haired youth began before stopping and frowning. "Actually, no. I'd rather not have to put in this much effort ever again." Looking over to the proctor, he gestured towards the captured girl with a nod of his head, prompting the man to announce him as the winner.

Tenten, who'd been quiet up till that point trying to understand what exactly had happened, finally snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing that she'd lost. The only words she uttered caused the boy infront of her to groan, while his two clones merely chuckled in amusement. "I hate you…" A pout appeared on her face as she grunted before looking away to try and keep the black-haired ninja from seeing her blush. Tatsuo didn't even respond. Simply letting his clones disperse as he pocketed his weapon before moving for the stairs. It wasn't until he was a good ten steps away from the girl that he heard the proctor say something.

"You realize you're going to help in cleaning all this up before the next match right?" the sickly jounin called out to him before breaking into a fit of coughs. Tatsuo froze mid-step before looking around at the numerous scattered weapons. The boy hung his head as his shoulders slumped forward. The chuckle of amusement from his opponent and many in the stands did nothing to help his mood. Why didn't he just quit when Naruto had asked him to a week ago?

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 **And that's that. Hope ya'll found that an interesting read. I know it wasn't as 'professional' of a fight as I usually tend to write up. I know Tatsuo could've used a bunch of different tricks to win way easier. But I wanted to make this into a fun fight. Not just a showcase of Tatsuo whooping Tenten's ass. Besides, I kinda like Tenten and didn't really appreciate the way they brushed her aside in the actual series. She had so much more potential.  
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 **Anyways, leave a review if you found anything worth reporting. Good? Bad? Meh? I'm fine with whatever. Hopefully ya'll had a fun time reading through this chapter. Have a nice day and or night ahead! Seeya!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Heyo! I'm back again with another chapter. Glad to see most of ya'll are still enjoying the fic. Once again, no questions or anything so things seem fine in that department. As for this particular chapter...well, it'll be interesting to say the least. As stated in the last chapter, the preliminary rounds have ended. The start of this chapter deals with the matchups for the next exam and then things get a bit more interesting. I apologize if this chapter doesn't seem up to snuff. But it's been a while since I've gotten around to writing something like this. So, it might seem a bit forced but hopefully it'll be well written for the most part.**

 **Disclaimer: You know, I'm getting real tired of repeating this. I don't own Naruto. Never have and never will. Happy now?**

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Chapter 18

Silence was something Tatsuo had grown rather accustomed to. He'd lived in silence for a few years before Naruto had returned. The boy often took walks late at night, just to clear his head of annoying thoughts and doubts. His time as a ninja had taught him all too well how dangerous that very silence could be. And at the moment, he was more than a little unnerved. The young Uchiha, along with the rest of the genin who'd made it through the preliminary rounds stood quietly in the arena as they awaited the verdict of said test.

The reason for the alarm was the red-haired boy from Suna, who stood right next to him. He could practically feel the blood-lust rolling off the teen in waves. It kept him on his toes to say the least. As the group of ten ninja stood patiently, Hayate stepped forward with a small box in his hands. "Alright," the pale man began. "Listen up. You'll all be drawing a piece of paper from this box. The numbers on said papers will decide who you'll be fighting in the next round."

Starting from the left of the line, he approached the bandaged genin from Sound first. Reaching into the box without hesitation, the boy pulled out a small folded piece of paper. Unfolding it and turning it to show to the proctor, the boy crumpled it in his hand. "Dosu Kinuta is number eleven," the sickly jounin announced. Moving down the line, he came to stand infront of Neji.

Whilst this occurred, Tatsuo took a moment to go over what had happened not too long ago. The red-haired genin next to him had been the last to fight. He'd gone up against the last member of Guy's team. It had been brutal, to say the least. Lee had put up a good fight, yet for as strong as he'd been, Gaara had been superior. Tatsuo shuddered at the thought of the killing intent he'd felt during that fight. It wasn't that he hadn't felt such copious amounts of it before. He'd fought against Orochimaru afterall. But for a mere genin to have the capability to radiate such an aura. It was frightening to say the least.

Gaara had won. There were more than a few moments when he had believed Lee's god-like speed would pull through. Yet the Suna genin had been too strong. The spandex-clad genin had been rushed to the infirmary after his fight, having had his left arm and leg crushed in the deadly grip of Gaara's sand. It had been truly frightening to watch. And he had not delusions about the fact that, if Guy himself hadn't interfered, Lee would have lost his life.

"Hey…" he heard, prompting him to look up at the face of Hayate. "You need to pick a number already." Nodding to the man, he absently reached into the box before pulling out his number. Unfolding the small piece of paper, he held it up for the jounin to see. "Alright, Tatsuo Uchiha is seven."

Looking over to his right, Tatsuo watched his blonde teammate reach into the box to pull out one of the remaining two pieces of paper. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing his friend smile like a madman before showing the number to Hayate. "Naruto Uzumaki is number two," the man announced before stepping back. "That means Sasuke Uchiha is nine." Turning around, the man glanced up at his leader who nodded. "If you'll all look up at the screen, you'll see the matchups for the fourth part of the Chunin Exams."

Looking up, Tatsuo's eyes widened. The first match was between Naruto and Neji. Turning his head to send a glance at his orange-wearing friend, he found the boy not even paying attention to the screen above. Instead, he was staring at his closed fist. That was why he'd been so happy before, Tatsuo concluded. He'd let his mind wander off for most of the selection, hence his surprise in regards to the matches.

Letting his eyes return to the screen, he moved his gaze down scanning the rest of the names. The second match would be between Shino and Kankuro. He wondered how that would turn out. The puppet-user was crafty and dangerous. But Shino was no pushover either. The match after that was Shikamaru against Temari. That would be interesting to watch. He chuckled when he heard the mumbled troublesome from a little distance away. Clearly the lazy Nara himself wasn't very pleased with his opponent.

It was only as he proceeded to read the next pair of names that Tatsuo froze. He slowly glanced to his left, his eyes staring into the excited violet ones of his teammate. The redhead had a grin on her face as she looked at him, making him hang his head for a moment. He'd been planning on giving up without fighting in the next part of the exams. However, if he were to do so against his hot-headed teammate then she'd never let him enjoy any peace and quiet ever again.

A sudden realization dawned on him as he remembered Dosu pulling out the number eleven. That only left two other participants. Looking back at the screen, his suspicion was confirmed. His fellow clansman would be fighting the insane sand-user next to him. That wasn't good. He wasn't able to think about it for too long though since the Hokage began speaking. It seemed like things wouldn't be getting any simpler from here on out.

"Alright!" Kasumi exclaimed as she walked towards her home with her team and sensei in tow. They'd just finished a celebratory meal, courtesy of Kushina, after leaving the Forest of Death. All of the remaining participants had been given a month until the next part of the Exams. Partly to acquire some new tricks to surprise their opponents and partly to recover from their varying wounds. Kasumi herself was feeling slightly sluggish after using the Kyubi's chakra. That didn't stop her from being extremely vocal about her upcoming match against her teammate. "I'm going to train till I drop so I can beat you Tatsuo!"

"You know," Tatsuo began, rubbing the back of his neck. He had just wanted to go home after their meal at Ichiraku's but his sensei had wanted to give them all something. "I could always just gi-" The teen's words died in his throat as he noticed the three death-like glares he was receiving from the rest of his team. "Never mind…" he squeaked out as he simply looked away and continued walking. The boy simply decided to enjoy the cloudy and cool weather. It wasn't too common in Konoha afterall.

It wasn't long till the four were seated in the living room of the Uzumaki household. "Okay!" Kushina finally started after she'd gotten back from retrieving a scroll. "I need the three of you to take off your clothes!" The cheerful way in which she told them to do so didn't help the situation. Silence reigned in the spacious room as the three genin stared at their sensei before Tatsuo rose to his feet. Kushina raised an eyebrow, wondering if he would actually just do as she'd told them. Her jaw dropped open, however, as the boy simply began walking towards the front door.

"Wait, Tatsuo-kun!" she called after him running to latch onto him comically. The boy gave her a tired yet annoyed look. Responding with a nervous smile she rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. "Sorry. I was just playing around." Turning to the other two members of her team, she gave them a smile. "In light of the Exams, I've decided to introduce the three of you to an interesting training method!" This prompted her two children to let out 'whoops' of excitement while her third student merely sighed before sitting back down.

"I'll be painting seals onto your bodies that will restrict your movements in a way," she began explain as she opened her scroll and began unsealing some supplies. "They're called resistance seals. The way they work is rather genius really." Placing several small bottles of ink onto the table in the middle, which she'd covered with a sheet beforehand, the woman thought for a moment. "Simply put, they're a way of training similar to the gravity seals we used back in wave."

"Then why can't we just use those, Mom?" Kasumi questioned, not bothering with calling her mother by her preferred title whilst they were on duty. They weren't really on duty and she was rather tired.

Kushina smiled as she placed a few brushes of varying sizes onto the table. "You see, the problem with gravity seals is…" she began as she rolled up the scroll before placing it on a nearby shelf on the wall. "…prolonged use of them can have some unwanted side effects such as loss of balance or irregular breathing whilst not under their strain." Stretching before taking a seat infront of her students, she looked at them before continuing. "Resistance seals, on the other hand, provide the same benefits as gravity seals but without the disadvantages. The only downside is they require a greater period of time to actually be as useful as gravity seals."

"So what exactly do they do?" asked Tatsuo, not really in the mood for in-depth explanations. He'd almost been turned into mincemeat not too long ago and wanted to go home. The medical staff may have healed his wounds but that didn't mean they didn't sting. Heck, a large portion of his body was sore and parts of it were slightly numb.

"Well," Kushina scratched her cheek, not sure how to explain the function of the seals in simple terms. "They offer resistance to motion. For example, they can make you feel like you're submerged in water, making it difficult to move. So, once you get used to moving normally under the influence of the seal…"

"You'd be much faster without them!" Naruto finished, earning a nod from his mother. "Sweet! Let's do it!"

Kushina chuckled at her son's enthusiasm before looking over to Tatsuo's tired form. "I believe it'd be better to apply them on Tatsuo-kun first," she began, causing all three of her students to tilt their heads. "I think he's had a rough day. I'm sure he'd like nothing more than to go home and sleep. So, I'll finish with him first so that he can leave."

Sighing at that, Tatsuo decided to get things over with. "Alright, whatever…" he muttered as he proceeded to pull his hoodie off. "I don't understand why this couldn't wait till tomorrow." Pulling his shirt off, he ignored the blush that lit up Kasumi's cheeks as she looked away from his torso.

"Pants too," Kushina commented offhandedly, giggling at the annoyed look her student sent her. "The reason I'd rather apply them on you all today is so that your body can get used to them more overnight. No point in wasting time afterall." She chuckled as the Uchiha boy tossed his pants onto the couch with the rest of his clothes whilst her daughter darted out of the room.

"Don't tell me to get rid of the rest too…" Tatsuo mumbled as he sat down cross-legged in nothing but his black boxers. Kushina chuckled at how flustered her student was getting. She took pride in getting the usually quiet and lazy boy all riled up.

"No that's alright," the red-haired jounin stated as she uncorked one of the bottles of ink. Picking up an average-sized brush, she proceeded to dip it into the black liquid. "This'll probably tickle a bit…" she stated with a small smile on her face as she began her work, starting from the boy's back. Several minutes of silence followed as Tatsuo ignored the ticklish feeling of the brush on his skin. Kushina simply focused on her work, making sure to check over her strokes to see if she'd made any errors.

"Hey, Sensei?" Naruto asked, watching his red-haired team leader work. Earning a thoughtful 'hum' from the jounin, the blonde proceeded with his question. "How advanced is that seal?" His question earned him a raised eyebrow from the woman, but she answered nonetheless.

"Not too advanced," she started, tracing another circle around the seal she'd currently finished. "Seals like this and the gravity seals aren't very difficult to make once you can understand the basics of sealing. In fact, most seals which alter the environment or perception of the user are rather easy to grasp conceptually, so long as they don't have any drastic effects and use chakra as a means of performing their function…well except space-time seals, of course." Dipping her brush into the ink once more, she traced a few lines that curled around Tatsuo's neck before ending at the teen's cheeks. "Why do you ask, Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, no reason really…" the blonde responded, watching his mother work extremely attentively. "It's just that the Pervy-Sage taught me a bit about seals, since I told him I wanted to be like dad." Looking down for a moment, smiling sadly as he did, the teen sighed. "It's just that we didn't really have a lot of time to get into them since by the time I was old enough to understand the stuff, we had to come back to Konoha."

Kushina stopped in her work for a moment, noting how Tatsuo hadn't said a thing during the entire conversation between the two of them. Looking over at her son, who seemed a bit depressed, she smiled. "Well then, why didn't you just ask me for help?" she stated, her smile brightening as she saw him look up at her hopefully. "Afterall, I do consider myself quite adept at fuinjutsu."

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air enthusiastically. Tatsuo smiled slightly, seeing his friend so happy. Things really did seem to be looking up for him.

Kushina suddenly let out a huff as she returned to the task at hand, pouting as she did. "If only your sister shared your interest in seals…" the woman muttered, clearly annoyed as she finished with her student's arms. "I need you to lie down on your front Tatsuo-kun. I can't properly work on your legs while you're sitting." Doing as he was told, Tatsuo lay down with his head resting on his crossed arms.

He felt the woman go to work on his legs, starting at his thighs. It was kind of soothing in a way. "What about the ink? Won't it smudge?" the teen heard his blonde friend ask, his teacher not stopping whilst she responded to his query.

"Normally, yes…" Kushina answered, tracing a single line down with one of her thicker brushes to connect to circular patterns on Tatsuo's right leg, from thigh to calf. "However, the ink I'm using has been specifically made for quick use. Once applied to a warmer surface, like a person's skin for example, it dries up much faster than normal ink." Having explained that fact about the ink she was using, she moved to her subject's left leg.

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything," Tatsuo spoke aloud, his eyes closed as he resisted the urge to simply fall asleep. "But won't it seem weird for us to be walking around with inked tattoos on our bodies?"

Chuckling at the boy's question, Kushina finished up the boy's leg before closing the bottle of ink. "No need to worry about that, Tatsuo-kun!" she stated rather enthusiastically as she moved to the main seal on the boy's back. "Once active, the seal itself will disappear. Much like the one on Naruto-kun that holds the Kyubi." Nodding at her words, Tatsuo merely let the woman do as she pleased. He felt her trace the pattern she'd drawn on his back earlier with her fingers before prompting him to get up. Looking over him to make sure everything was in order, she smiled before placing her hands on the main seal on his back.

"Now, I'm going to activate the seal," she stated, earning a nod from the boy. "You'll feel sluggish. Almost as if you're moving through honey." Letting her chakra flow into the seal, she watched as the ink began to give off a light blue glow. Tatsuo himself felt his skin tingle as the seal started up, his body and limbs becoming slightly heavier. Feeling something run up his legs and into his boxers, he looked down to see lines of ink rushing up to connect with the main seal on his back. That definitely felt weird.

As the glow began to die down, the two genin noted how the seal seemed to fade along with the light. Another few seconds passed before the markings were completely gone, prompting Naruto to get up before looking over his friend. "So how do you feel?" he asked, looking curiously at the black-haired genin.

Tatsuo brought his arm up rather slowly, looking at the limb with wide eyes. Moving his head to look at his other arm, he noticed how even that took slightly more effort. Lifting his leg off the ground, he realized how it felt much heavier. "This…" he started, stretching at a snail's pace. "…will probably take some getting used to."

Nodding at her work, Kushina patted the boy on his shoulder before turning him around to face her. "Now, listen up!" she began, bringing her hands up to form some handseals. "I want you to memorize these handseals. Once used, a pulse of chakra will deactivate the seals. Repeating these seals and giving out a constant stream of chakra for a few seconds while the seals are inactive will serve to activate them again. While active, the seals will use up a miniscule amount of your chakra constantly. It won't be noticeable to you normally, however, over a longer period of time it will provide you with the added benefit of expanding your current chakra reserves. You also need to spend a few hours with them inactive each day so you don't become accustomed to them to the point where you can't move around properly when they aren't active."

Noting how her student had his sharingan active, she repeated the handseals before smiling as the boy mirrored them and let out a burst of chakra. Moving much quicker than he was before, he nodded to himself before reactivating the seals and then moving to redress himself. "If you feel something wrong, then don't hesitate to come see me. Alright, Tatsuo-kun?" Her words earned her a nod, before the teen let out a loud yawn. Not even bothering to put on his hoodie, the Uchiha simply slung it over his shoulder before leaving the room.

"Alright then," Kushina spoke up, earning her son's attention. "Your turn now, Naruto-kun!" She hadn't even finished her sentence when the boy was already sitting on the ground, in his boxers with ramen cup designs adorning them. Kushina couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing.

Tatsuo walked down the near-empty street as he looked up at the cloudy sky. It was definitely uncommon for Konoha to have this kind of weather. Most of the villagers had returned to their households, the few still out closing up their stores so they could avoid the upcoming storm. Hopefully, Naruto would get back home before it started pouring. Coming to a sudden halt, the boy couldn't help remembering something as he saw the flash of lightening in the sky. The deafening thunder didn't even register in his mind, as thoughts of a certain technique filled his mind.

Sighing, he changed directions. He'd used it twice since he'd become a genin. Even though he'd promised himself he wouldn't. It was a childish promise, he knew. Afterall, any asset in the ninja world that you didn't use could potentially get you killed. Looking up at the stormy sky, he noted a few drops of water begin to descend from darkening clouds. He'd have to be quick about this.

A few minutes passed, before he came to a small clearing near one of the many training grounds of Konoha. Infront of him was a gravestone. Well, in a way. It wasn't really a gravestone he mused, since there was no grave. No, he corrected himself, it was more of a memorial. A number of names adorned the surface of the stone. Yet his eyes were drawn to a single name. One that he both loved and hated. Kneeling down, he ran his thumb over the etched words. _Amaya Uchiha_.

"Mom…" the black-haired boy muttered, completely captivated by the name and the memories it held.

"I did not expect to see you here at such an hour," the voice snapped Tatsuo out of his trance, prompting him to rise to his feet in an instant as he spun around, kunai in hand. His eyes narrowed when he noticed who it was that had snuck up on him. The man was old, a cane held in his hand to help him walk. He had shaggy black hair, with bandages covering his right eye. A cross-shaped scar stood out on his chin. His attire consisted of a white shirt, with a dark grey robe over it that covered him from the feet up to his right shoulder. The man also had a bandaged right arm that was concealed withing his robe, although slightly visible. "What brings you here, Tatsuo-kun?"

"It's none of your business, Danzo…" Tatsuo muttered, not loosening the grip on his weapon in the slightest. He noticed the old man raise an eyebrow, even though his single visible eye was closed at the moment. "I was just about to leave anyways."

"Indeed, don't want to be caught out in this storm do we?" the man began, not worried about the boy's kunai in the slightest. "Have you given any more thought to my offer?" Receiving no response, except the frown on the teen's face growing in size, the man let a small smile come across his face. "I see…" Taking a few steps closer to the boy, the man ignored the tightening of the Uchiha's grip on his blade. "Perhaps I need to be a bit more…persuasive in my offer." Raising his free hand up to the bandages on his face, the man noted the sharingan that bore into him, courtesy of Tatsuo.

Just as the man's hand was an inch away from the bandages, however, he stopped. Sighing he looked over to his far right before bringing his hand back down to his side. "May I be of assistance, Anbu-san?" Tatsuo's eyes darted to the direction where the old man looked, noting the presence of another individual. His eyes widened upon seeing the Neko-masked ANBU from the day of the academy exams.

"Not at all, Danzo-san…" the woman spoke, her mask concealing any emotion that may have been visible on her visage. Her words betraying nothing of her thoughts. "I simply wished to visit the memorial before the storm hit."

Frowning at her words, Danzo turned around. "I see," he began as he started walking away. "Please be careful. Konoha cannot afford to lose any shinobi due to illness. Donot stay out in the rain for too long, Anbu-san, Tatsuo-kun."

Once he was sure the man was gone, Tatsuo let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Slipping the kunai back into his weapon pouch, he turned slowly towards the ANBU. "Thanks…"

"What may I inquire are you thanking me for?" the woman questioned, walking towards the boy as she glanced towards the memorial.

"Oh, shut up…" Tatsuo stated, sighing as he shook his head. "I don't see why you insist on acting as if you don't know me…Yugao-san." The boy smirked when he noticed the woman not respond. She simply ignored his comment to go kneel next to the memorial stone. "So, how'd you know?"

"A little mouse told me you may be in need of some assistance…" the woman stated, holding out a small folded piece of paper. Taking it, Tatsuo unfolded it to read its contents. He raised an eyebrow at the simple message. _'Tatsuo help memorial.'_

"You said a little mouse?" the genin asked, tilting his head in confusion. He didn't know what that meant.

"Yes, literally…" he heard the Neko-masked woman say. "It was a mouse made of ink." That clicked in the young boy's mind. He couldn't help but smile. Guess this was the boy's way of getting even with him and his team. Who knew what Danzo had planned to do with him if Yugao hadn't arrived. The man was probably more reluctant with her presence there since she was far stronger than Tatsuo himself was. That and anything happening to her would be more alarming to the Hokage and council than a simple genin, the woman being an ANBU squad leader and all.

"So, how've you been?" Tatsuo asked, pulling his hoodie on as the wind picked up. "What about Katsuro-san? I haven't seen him in a while…" the boy waited for an answer quietly, allowing the woman to finish paying her respects to whoever it was she came to do so for.

"We've been fine," she stated after standing up once more. "Although he's been rather adamant about teasing me for what happened with you and the Uzumaki boy…" Looking up at the sky, the woman sighed. "You should be going. It'll be raining soon and I'd rather you not get sick. This next month will be crucial to your success in the Chunin Exams."

"It's fine," the boy replied as he waved his hand nonchalantly. "I won't be training with my sensei for the duration of the month." That earned him a shocked jerk of the head from the ANBU woman. "Seeing as how I'm going to be fighting against Kasumi in the next round. I figured it'd be better if the both of us trained separately. So, tomorrow I'll be telling Kushina-sensei that I won't be training with her for the month."

There was a pause, where the purple-haired kunoichi considered the boy's words. "Do you already have arrangements for training?" she questioned, inwardly wishing she wasn't so loyal to her late sensei. It wasn't like she hated the boy or anything. On the contrary, he was one of the most talented shinobi she'd ever seen, for a genin anyways. It was just that it'd be annoying to find time to train him for a month.

"Not really," Tatsuo stated casually, before a smirk spread across his face. "Are you offering, Yugao-san?" Seeing the expression on his face, she knew this had been his plan all along. The manipulative bastard! "You don't have to if you don't want. I'm sure I could find someone to ask for help in a week or two." The way he said it made it all the worse. Why had she even asked?!

"No, that will not be necessary…" she stated, glad that her mask was hiding the twitching eye underneath. "Meet me here in two days. I will assist you in your training."

"Aw, thanks!" Tatsuo stated happily, chuckling upon seeing the woman's twitching hand. "I mean, after the beating I took from you during Naruto's exam. I thought you wouldn't want anything to do with me!"

A moment of silence passed between the two, the howling of the wind the only form of sound present. Yugao gazed into his eyes. The eyes full of mirth and evil. He had his mother's manipulative nature it seemed. "Just…go…" she muttered before vanishing in a swirl of leaves. She needed to cool off before she ended up repeating what she'd done to the teen a few months ago. No, she could not do that. No matter how annoying he was. It helped to imagine it though.

Chuckling to himself, Tatsuo began the journey back home. Pulling his hood up to keep from getting too soaked by the slight drizzle that had started, the teen forced himself to break into a run, even as the resistance seal made it much more difficult. He hadn't initially planned on getting the ANBU squad captain to train him. No, he'd come up with that one on the spot. It just felt better than training with the same person he'd be fighting. If they did that then there was no way either of them could surprise the other. Plus, he doubted his sensei would really be able to train either of them properly if she was trying to be fair between them. Realizing his own trail of thought, the boy sighed upon realizing that perhaps his team had begun to rub off on him.

Reaching the gates of the Uchiha district, the black-haired youth slowed down before turning to enter the place. Only to collide into the soaked form of his red-haired teammate. Stumbling back as the two tumbled to the ground, he found himself laying on his back with Kasumi on top of him, her face inches away from his. A few seconds passed before the two genin realized the position they were in. After which their faces practically lit up with red before they jumped to their feet.

"K-kasumi!" Tatsuo shouted at the girl, bright red in the face. "W-w-what the hell are you doing out here in the rain?!" The girl infront of him was cherry red aswell, stuttering just as he was in trying to respond. "Jeez, here! Put this on!" Tossing his hoodie to the girl, he glared at her when she began to object. Once she'd put the article of clothing on he questioned her again, a bit more composed this time. "Kasumi, what are you doing out in this rain?"

"I'm looking for Big Brother!" she exclaimed, suddenly panicking when she remembered the reason why she was running around like crazy. "I need to find him before he does something that'll get him hurt!"

That caught Tatsuo off guard, wondering what exactly had happened in the small amount of time he'd left. "Did you check at my place?" he question, earning him a nod from the girl. "And he wasn't there…great…"

"Haku answered the door," she stated, the rain slowly picking up speed around them. "He asked me to come inside, but I told him I couldn't." She suddenly fell to her knees, placing her face in her hands as sobs racked through her body.

Kneeling down next to her, Tatsuo placed his hands on the girl's shoulders. "Kasumi, listen to me…" he stated, prompting her to look up at him. "I need you to calm down, okay? Calm down and tell me what happened…"

"It…happened after Mom finished the seal on Brother…" she began, the memory still fresh in her mind.

… _ **Flashback…**_

 _Naruto stretched his arms after he'd finished getting his own seal activated. The boy bounced on his own feet to feel the effects of the jutsu. Kushina watched her son test her work, smiling happily upon realizing that her relationship with the boy was actually getting closer to what it should have been from the start. Kasumi stood beside her with an annoyed pout, wondering when she'd get her own. The girl smiled upon seeing the happy look on her brother's face._

 _A sudden boom of thunder made the three jump slightly, prompting Naruto to sigh before stretching his arms. "Well, I better get going…" Naruto began. "I'll see you tomorrow sensei." Having said this, the teen waved goodbye before jogging out into the hall leading to the front door._

" _Hey, Mom?" Kasumi questioned as a thought popped up into her head. Earning Kushina's attention, the girl stated her thoughts. "This is nice isn't it? The three of us acting like a family. I wish it had always been like this…"_

 _Kushina bit her lower lip upon hearing her daughter's words. "So do I, Kasumi-chan…" she responded._

 _Not knowing the consequences that her next words would cause, Kasumi asked her mother a simple question. "You never did tell me why we had to leave, Mom…"_

 _Her breath hitching at the query, the red-haired kunoichi contemplated her response. "Oh, it isn't anything to worry about…" she began, rubbing her arm as she gazed down at her feet. "I'll tell you when you're older."_

" _Why not tell her now, sensei?" came Naruto's voice as he turned the corner from the hall to enter the room once more, a slightly dejected look on his face as he gazed at his mother's face. "I'd like to know too…"_

 _Kushina's eyes widened once she saw her son return. Several thoughts ran through her head as she went over the current situation. Why had he come back after leaving? What was she going to tell him? How would he react if she told him the truth? Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she came to a decision. "Ah, well…if you really want to know…" Rubbing the back of her neck as she gave him a nervous smile, she continued. "I was assigned to watch over a small village near the border of the Land of Fire. Hokage-sama was suspicious of some activity in regards to a group of missing-ninja. The only reason I took Kasumi with me was to make sure she wasn't affected negatively by the Fox's chakra…"_

 _A moment of silence passed between them before a low growl left Naruto's throat. Looking up at her son in surprise, Kushina's eye widened at the sight. The teen was radiating a red aura, similar to the chakra cloak of a jinchuriki when they utilized their their Tailed Beast's chakra. But that wasn't possible! He didn't have any of the Ninetails' chakra. She winced as the blonde boy slammed his fist into the wall next to him, cracks spreading out from the point of impact._

" _After all these years," she heard her son mumble, the teen not looking up at her. "I thought you'd changed. Thought you'd gotten better…" Kushina took a shaky step towards the boy, wondering what he was talking about. She stopped dead in her tracks when the blonde's neck snapped up as his red eyes bore holes into her. "I thought we could be a family again. But you decide to lie?"_

 _Kushina's eyes widened in shock. He knew! "Wait, Naruto-kun I ca-" she started only to be silenced as a pulse of chakra ripped through the room, causing the furniture to creak._

" _No…" the whiskered boy muttered as he glared at her. "I've tried giving you time. I've given you more than enough time!" His voice was low, but it held a raging fury that froze the jounin in place. "And then you lie straight to my face. What?! I don't deserve to know?! Don't deserve to know that you tried to kill me?!" Kasumi's eyes widened upon hearing her brother's words._

 _The next instant, he was gone. Kushina's eyes remained wide, her body frozen in a mixture of fear and shock. What had she done? Snapping her gaze to her daughter, she ignored the confused look on the girl's face. "Kasumi-chan, I know you don't understand this…" she stated, kneeling down to cup her daughter's cheeks. "But we need to find your brother. Before he hurts himself…"_

 _Giving the woman a shaky nod, the girl rushed out of the house along with her mother. The only thoughts plaguing her mind being in regards to her brother's safety._

… _ **End Flashback…**_

Tatsuo grit his teeth in anger. Leave it up to that woman to screw things up again. He knew he shouldn't have been so quick to trust her. She clearly hadn't gotten over her problems. And even if she had, then lying to Naruto about her reasons was idiotic. Rising to his feet, he held a hand out to the girl in front of him. It wasn't her fault things had fallen to shit. "Come on…" he muttered as he pulled her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" she asked him, wiping her face with the sleeves of his hoodie. "We need to find Brother…" Looking at the crying girl, he felt a surge of sympathy.

"I know," he stated, looking towards the Hokage monument. "He's at the monument. That's where he always goes when he's feeling emotional." Earning a nod from the girl, both the genin broke into a run, speeding towards the mountain. It didn't take them long to reach the stairs that led up the side of the rocky formation. Scaling the mountain, Tatsuo wasn't surprised to see his blonde friend sitting atop his father's head. The teen was simply sitting on the rocky surface, soaked to the bone.

Grabbing onto Kasumi's shoulder to stop her from immediately running over to him, he gave her an understanding look. "Give me a few minutes alone with him," he stated, the girl looking at him in surprise. Seeing her ready to argue, the boy held up a hand. "You can meet him in a bit. Just let me talk to him for a little while…" Seeing the girl nod reluctantly at his words, he smiled before moving over to the seated boy.

Taking a seat next to him, the two sat in silence for a few seconds. "What're you doing here, Tatsuo?" the Uzumaki boy asked, not even sparing his friend a glance. "You'll get sick if you stay here…"

"And what about you?" Tatsuo retorted, staring out at the village. "You think just because you have the Kyubi to fix you up, it's fine to stay out here?"

"Shut up…" Naruto muttered, looking down at the ground. "I don't care anymore." Jerking his head around to glare at the black-haired ninja, he grit his teeth. "So you're here to tell me to get over it?! To just forget about it?! To forgive her again?!"

Tatsuo chuckled, surprising his companion. "Of course not…" he replied, turning his head to face his friend. "In case you've forgotten, I was never on board with the idea of you being so forgiving and acting so happy around her in the first place." Shaking his head, he looked up at the dark sky, the rain feeling rather refreshing. "I'd actually prefer it if you didn't forgive her. It'd be what she deserves. But I already know you aren't that kind of a person." Naruto didn't respond, simply letting his gaze return to the village. "It'll be your decision. And in all honestly, I won't hold it against you." A few more minutes passed before the blonde let out a chuckle.

"You really are the worst person to ask for advice…" the blonde commented, seeing his friend laugh at his words. "I need to sleep on this…and be dry when I actually make a decision." His words were punctuated with a quick glance down at his soaked form.

"Yeah," Tatsuo replied, getting up as he stretched his arms. "You've got another visitor by the way." Naruto raised an eyebrow before turning around to see his sister shivering a little distance away. "Don't blame me. She wouldn't have gone home even if I'd told her to…" Tatsuo stated, already knowing what his friend was going to say.

Taking a few steps towards his sister, Naruto smiled as he saw her look at him hopefully. Before he knew it, however, she'd rammed into him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He looked down at her head, the girl's face buried in his chest as her body shook from the combined force of the cold and her sobs. "Big Brother…" she said, her voice broken and dejected. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what Mommy did! Please don't leave me…" Naruto's eyes softened as he slowly wrapped his own arms around his sister's smaller frame. Placing his chin atop her head, he felt her arms tighten around his body.

Sending a glance over to Tatsuo, he found the boy already walking towards the stairs. "She can stay with us for tonight…" he called back to him, waving his hand casually as he reached the stairs. "I'll go find Kushina-san…" And with that, he was gone.

Naruto merely smiled at the Uchiha's words, glad he had such an understanding friend. But for the moment, he simply tightened his own grip around his sister. She was innocent in all of this. It wasn't her fault that his mother was…it didn't matter. He'd think about that later on. Feeling the rain pick up, he decided that it would be best if they got home sooner rather than later.

Tatsuo leapt through the rain, trying to find his sensei. He wanted nothing more than to simply punch her lights out. But he wasn't hotheaded like his teammates. He couldn't understand why the red-haired jounin had chosen to lie to her son, but he believed she had her own reasons. Whether they were any good was yet to be seen. Catching the sight of a woman leaping towards him from the direction of Ichiraku's he assumed it was her.

Coming to a halt, the two simply stared at eachother. It was a few moments later that Kushina spoke, her voice panicked yet doubtful. "Tatsuo-kun! I need to find Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed, walking towards him. She stopped when he glared at her, wondering why he was so angry with her. Perhaps he'd learned what had happened from Kasumi. The girl had said she was heading for the Uchiha's home when she'd rushed off. "He may be in danger!"

"I can assure you that Naruto is in no such trouble," Tatsuo replied whilst crossing his arms. "He's probably at my house with Kasumi by now." Seeing the redhead's eyes widen, he held up a hand to quell any words which were about to leave her mouth. "I'd rather you didn't see him right now. He'll clear things up with you at his own time. I think you've done enough for the time being…" His words caused the woman to look down at her feet in despair. "Don't get all depressed. I doubt he'll stay mad at you for too long. He's just not that type of a person. But rest assured, it'll be a while before you regain my trust."

Kushina couldn't help but sob. She couldn't believe what was happening. And everything had been perfect nearly an hour ago. Why was she such a terrible person? Why couldn't she do anything right when it came to her students? Why couldn't she be a good mother to her children? Sinking to her knees, she buried her face into her hands as she wept. A hand laid itself upon her shoulder, prompting her to look up with tear-filled eyes. Staring into the lazy black eyes of her student, she found him looking at her sympathetically.

"Look," he began slowly. "I know you must feel like crap. I get it." His words did little to alleviate the pain she felt in her heart. "But you have to understand. You can't just hide what you did. Naruto already knows why you left. He's known ever since he came back from his trip with Jiraiya-san." Kushina's eyes widened in shock. The complete magnitude of what she'd done only now dawning on her. "But he doesn't hold it against you. In fact, he understands why you did it. But the fact that you lied to him about it. Tried to hide something from him that forced him to live alone without any family. That's something he's not willing to forgive quite yet."

Taking a seat infront of the kneeling woman, the boy ran a hand through his hair. The mop of black practically clung to his skin from all the rain. "I know you want to make it up to him," he started once more, looking into her eyes as he tried to help her understand. "But right now, he just needs some time alone to come to terms with what you've done. You can explain yourself to him when he's ready to hear you out."

Kushina didn't stop crying, but the woman nodded. She understood what she'd done. And she was willing to accept the consequences of her actions. This time, things would be different. For once, she'd do things right. "I understand, Tatsuo-kun…" she whispered to the boy. "I'll do my best to help all of you. And I'll make sure to do right by my son from now on. I'm done drowning myself in my own self-pity." She looked up at the boy with a fire in her eyes. It was small, but it was there.

Nodding at her words, Tatsuo rose to his feet. Making a clone, he let the copy run off to inform the others that he wouldn't be coming home tonight. "Let's get you home, sensei…" his words weren't much, but hearing him call her sensei made Kushina smile. It was an invitation. An invitation to redeem herself. And that was something she wouldn't pass up. "You mind if I stay at your place tonight. There's something else I'd like to talk to you about. Plus I'm pretty sure the only place left for me to sleep at home at this point is the sofa…"

Kushina nodded, a small part of her glad that she wouldn't be alone. She didn't deserve the boy's company, in all honesty. But he was doing his best to reach out to her. And she'd meet him halfway. "Kasumi-chan must be soaked…" she muttered as the two leapt off the building. "I need to bring her some clothes. And what about you, Tatsuo-kun?"

Tatsuo shrugged, as he looked up at the cloudy sky. "I'll send a clone out once we get back. Make a quick run to and back from my place." Kushina nodded at his words, wishing she herself could go deliver the clothes if only to simply see her children. But she knew now was not the right time. She'd wait for when they needed her. And she'd be there for them when they did. She too looked up at the sky, the darkness of the storm not letting up for even a bit. It didn't look like it'd be over any time soon. But it would end eventually. They'd just have to weather through it. Just as she would when it came to gaining back her son's trust.

* * *

 **Well? How was it? It's the first time I've written a scene quite like the one in this chapter. I'd appreciate any feedback from ya'll. Honestly, I feel like I could have done better in regards to the catalyst of the whole situation. But reading over it now...I feel like it turned out pretty decent. So, preliminaries are over. I'll probably be skipping over the month long training gap. But I'll maybe put out one or two chapters before skipping ahead. There's still some things I'd like to clear out before heading over to the next part of the exams. Hopefully, you all aren't too disappointed by the matchups. Honestly, I feel like they'll be pretty fun. Especially the Tatsuo and Kasumi one. Huh, there's an idea. How about ya'll take a guess as to who you think will win in that fight.  
**

 **I can assure you it'll have a few surprises. Plus, I'll make sure to add in a few new tricks to both Kasumi and Tatsuo's arsenal. Not that I won't be doing that with Naruto. No, no, no. He's going to be getting some nifty new tricks of his own. You'll just have to keep reading and see. Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this one and thanks for taking the time out of your day to actually give it a read. Seeya next time!**


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